Fathers And Sons
by Emperor K. Rool
Summary: Repost. Two evil dynasties are locked in an epic battle for control of the Nintendo multiverse, but there greatest threats may come from within. Can Bowser repair his fractured family, or will King K. Rool and General Scales reign supreme?
1. And So It Begins

Since Nintendo "canon" is filled with retcons, I feel at liberty to keep certain aspects that are no longer up-to-date like the Koopalings being Bowser's kids, Paper Mario as being the same universe as the rest of Mario and Star Fox Adventures having taken place. Even though it was never canon, I'm also doing homage to the Mario is from Brooklyn idea with a friend's unique twist, and keep Rare's decision for Cranky to be DK's grandpa rather than his dad. And I'm borrowing KoopalingFan's idea that all the Koopalings are all the children of Clawdia Koopa, but that she died before Bowser Jr. was hatched, hence Bowser being overly protective of him.

There were many worlds. Anyone familiar with the history of the Mushroom World knew that. After all, almost seven decades ago, a group of around twenty humans from Brooklyn, New York, USA, Earth ended up in the Mushroom World where one, Pauline, was abducted by a young Cranky Kong. Her descendants with eventual husband, an Italian plumber, included the famous Mario Bros. But until Master Hand had shown up and made the Super Smash Bros. Tournaments a yearly occasion, travel between worlds was almost always accidental.

 _Almost always_ , K. Rool thought. Once his people, the Kremlings had been the most advanced civilization in the Mushroom World. From their original homeland in Kaos Kore in the Northern Kremisphere, they had spread to the daughter cultures of Krematoa, Kremlantis, and Crocodile Isle. In an age before electricity and the steam engine, the ancient Kremlings had uncovered a massive source of geothermal energy. It was clean and renewable and enabled the Kremlings to rise from fishers, hunter-gathers, and and subsistence farmers to a society of poets, philosophers, explorers and scientists. By experimenting with the multicolored crystals that contained this energy, the Kremlings created the volcanic island Krematoa in the Northern Kremisphere and the volcanic islands of Kremlantis and Crocodile Isle in the DK Isles. It was from these islands that K. Rool's ancestors took their title Rex Insularum. But when the Kongs or Kremling in-fighting had destroyed the energy siphons on Krematoa and Kremlantis respectively, that left only Crocodile Isle standing above the waves. The Kremlings of Kaos Kore regarded their island dwelling brothers as warmongers and would not help them. The survivors crowded on Crocodile Isle which rapidly became filthy and polluted. When envoys from the Mushroom Kingdom and the Darklands first reached Crocodile Isle they assumed that the Kremlings had always been a species that did not care for nature. And the Kongs preferred the Mushroom version of history to their neighbor's version of history. Recent events caused the Mushroom World to revise its views of the Kremlings. A few years ago, K. Rool tapped into the submerged energy siphon of Kremlantis and raised the island. What the archeologists found there was proof of a culture that lived in harmony with nature. The Mushroom Kingdom and the Darklands had revised their views on ancient Kremling history. Sadly, that was also the year that the Kongs disrupted the energy flow at Crocodile Core on Crocodile Isle forcing it to sink. On the whole, things could be worse.

Soon, Krematoa was raised and work was begun on an artificial Crocodile Isle. The main population of Kremlings lived on this artificial Crocodile Isle or in Kaos Kore, while the nobility and intellectuals spent long holidays in resorts or private estates on Kremlantis or Krematoa. K. Rool was at a resort he legally owned in southwestern Krematoa, where the jungle met the mountains. His room contained both a bedroom area and a study. Most of it looked rather ordinary: brown chests-of-drawers, grey-green carpet, brown chairs and tables. However, one item stood out. To the untrained eye it looked like a flat screen high definition TV with black casing. One of its settings was for two-way face-to-face communication across realms. Kremling scientists had long ago realized that the crystals could open portals in spacetime from one realm to another, and K. Rool had made frequent use of them.

One ally, with whom he actually formed one of the few genuine friendships in his life, was Gannondorf. Gannondorf's people, the Gerudo, had a genetic sensitivity to an energy field in their homeworld. They could manipulate it like magic. They lacked the technological sophistication and scientific understanding to distinguish between magic and the stranger parts of science. Gannondorf however had been interested enough in K. Rool's world to let the Kremling King install a power generator and a comm device in his castle. The two kept each other informed on events in each other's worlds, addressed each other as familiars, and shared many a good laugh at Bowser's (the Koopa King), expense. Neither would go so far as to actually trust the other with his life, but they did like each other.

K. Rool turned on the comm device and entered the code for Gannondorf's castle. It took five minutes but his ally finally responded.

"Crășa, how goeth it with thee?"

"Charming as always, Gannon. And yourself?"

"A day nearer to claiming the Triforce," Gannondorf said, the tone in his voice indicating the exact opposite was in fact the case.

"Well, I have come upon a brilliant plan that could help both of us. My son is about to consolidate his hold over the remnants of Andross's former empire."

"Thou hast a son in the Lylat System? How?"

K. Rool decided that since this was about to go public he may as well tell Gannondorf about his prior activities in the Lylat System. He'd been in contact with Andross for several decades. K. Rool exchanged information about the Mushroom World with Andross, in exchange for K. Rool contributing to Andross's experiments. K. Rool knew that as the Mushroom World and the Lylat System were in the same universe, the same galaxy even, Andross would eventually want to conquer it as well. However, he'd need a planetary governor to manage it for him. In light of their dialogue that would probably be K. Rool.

Still Andross, had underestimated K. Rool. When Andross spoke of his experiments on the planet Sauria, K. Rool came face to face with the Sharpclaw. What happened next was Andross's idea, but K. Rool quickly found a way to turn it against him. Andross was interested in crossbreeding a Kremling with a SharpClaw. It would take massive genetic manipulation of both the sperm and egg cells' genomes, but it could be done. Naturally K. Rool volunteered himself, with Andross understanding that the child would be K. Rool's successor, educated on Venom, and loyal to Andross.

Or so Andross thought. K. Rool frequently visited Sauria and frequently brought young Ivar Krasjason to visit him on Crocodile Isle. He taught him to see himself as the rightful heir not just of Crocodile Isle but of Andross's empire as well. It didn't hurt that the boy's mother steeped him in the legend of the Daroganson who would one day rule all of Sauria.

Now Andross was dead, and General Scales, the name Ivar was known by, was gathering the ape's former generals to himself. He only had to deal with Andrew Oikonny, Venom's so called "emperor." That he was employing Andrew's former teammates, Wolf O'Donnell and Leon Powalski, only made victory that much more delicious. And that wasn't where K. Rool wanted to end with Star Wolf.

After explaining Scales's origins to Ganondorf, K. Rool asked, "Would you like to rent Star Wolf from him?"

Gannondorf arched his orange eyebrows.

"I know them from the Smash Bros. tournaments. O'Donnell is an effective fighter, but how know I that he wilt not be working for thee?"

K. Rool and Gannondorf were so alike that they knew to distrust each other, no matter how much they may have liked one another.

"You don't. But he's a mercenary. You can always out-bid me." K. Rool said.

Gannondorf smiled and chuckled, and said "That I shall do. Contact me when we are ready to begin."

"As always, Gannon. Bye for now." K. Rool entered a new code on his remote and Gannondorf's face disappeared.

The Kremling King sat back in his chair and smiled. He had trained Scales well for this day. The only thing he faulted his son for was that Krazoa fiasco, but then no one had could have foreseen that Andross was manipulating those events. Scales's true test, as genetically engineered military genius was about to begin. He would be arriving on Mushroom Planet shortly, and then the wrath of Venom would fall on K. Rool's greatest enemy of all—the only one he hated more than Cranky Kong. K. Rool arose to turn a miniature globe on the shelf until his finger and gazed touched Darklands.

"A glorious winter is about to descend on the House of Koopa and its heirs."

* * *

The day so far was typical, meaning that Ludwig von Koopa was hating it thoroughly. So far he'd seen his youngest brother devour three giant sized chocolate covered donuts for breakfast and then get to stay home from school because of a tummy ache. His dad had naturally yelled at the minions who had prepared the meal rather than little pig who gotten himself in the mess. Ludwig himself had a stress filled day as a senior at Dark City Enriched High School. His heavy load of physics, calculus, Koopa lit, Mushroom language, and sociology were all basically college level courses. On top of this, though maintaining a straight A average, Ludwig was always assigned mandatory extra credit assignments that cut down his personal time to fifteen minutes before bed each night. He had no so social life, while the little pest could make himself sick and probably get applauded for it. Nothing was too much for the little one who'd worn diapers till he was four.

Ever since Bowser Jr. had been old enough to join their father on his evil schemes to kidnap Princess Peach, he had consistently been referred to as "the" Koopa Prince, not "a" Koopa prince. By all rights that title belonged to Ludwig since he was the first hatched, but Junior was the favorite. Ludwig did not understand his father's reasons for this, but at least he made an effort to guess. How accurate his guess was, he'd never know. The brat was spoiled, getting every new toy he wanted, eating a high sugar diet (regardless of future health consequences such as the family predisposition toward obesity), and never being criticized by Bowser, Kamek, or Kammy. All this told him that Junior was not their father's choice to inherit the throne. Such a pampered, spoiled, brat could never grow into the head of a nation state. He would be too prone to govern by knee-jerk reactions to things not going his way. No, even Dad had to see the stupidity of making that little piece of crud his heir—not that the Darklands had an absolute monarchy. Every action a monarch took had to be approved by the Darklands' Council—there! That was it! Junior could make any kind of decision he wanted and the council would never approve. The only reason the council kept approving Dad's plans to kidnap Peach was because it kept the Darklands' military the most heavily funded part of government. The Darklands needed Mushroom World's largest army, as the Kremlings' had the largest navy.

The next king should be someone who understood geopolitics. Princess Peach's Mushroom Kingdom had the largest economy in the Mushroom World, which meant that power on their planet was in that most unstable shape, a tripod. A union between the Darklands and Mushroom Kingdom would be the end of the Kremlings, and a union between the Kremlings and Mushroom Kingdom would be the end of Darklands.

Errgh! With all this on his mind was it any wonder Ludwig couldn't concentrate on his essay about the Koopspeare's notions of death in Clawd's soliloquy? The Koopa prince stared at the flashing cursor on his computer, and at the time on the screen's lower right hand: 9:05 P.M.

He would devote one more hour to his essay, call it a quits for the night, catch the news, watch the monologue of his favorite late night talk show and go to bed. He'd slave under the tyranny of the future Bowser IV tomorrow.


	2. Daroganson

His Majesty, Bowser III, King of Darklands, had quite a different perspective on the previous day's events than his eldest son did. Junior had overindulged in chocolate donuts and given himself a horrible tummy-ache. He did get to stay home from school that day, but the little Koopa didn't enjoy himself like Ludwig thought. Bowser loved sweets too, but he ate a mostly protein diet. It was simple, exercise or you get fat; pay attention when your body tells you're full.

Bowser had looked at his youngest child, lying on his green and purple checkered bed. His heart had gone out to Junior every time he mumbled in pain. Bowser had been there to hold his hand, certainly, but also to lecture him.

"Junior, you know what you did was stupid. You should've stopped when you were getting full."

"But I like chocolate donuts!"

"And I like lemon cake, but I know when to stop," Bowser had said, remembering the time he had been force fed by Fawful's Boos. Fawful wasn't necessary here though, as Junior could be his own worst enemy.

"I didn't think it would hurt."

"No," Bowser had said softly, "I'm sure you didn't."

"Except for when we fight Mario, things always work out," Junior had said confidently.

Bowser had wanted to say something but contented himself with patting Junior's head.

No, son, they don't.

Yesterday's overeating and its aftermath was putting things in prospective.

There were times, not all that often, but often enough, that Bowser wondered if he was really doing right by Junior, spoiling him the way he did. He knew that the others saw it as favoritism and that Ludwig feared Bowser would alter the succession laws in favor of Junior. That was ridiculous, but even Bowser admitted that he was giving that impression. But in all fairness he had to treat Junior differently. All the other Koopalings had known their mother. Even Larry still had memories of her. But she'd passed away just before Bowser Jr. hatched. Bowser therefore had to be both father and mother to his youngest. Getting Junior a real mother was Bowser's main motive for always kidnapping Princess Peach.

Still he tried his best on his own. The results were disastrous though. He always over-encouraged Junior when Junior wanted something, and overprotected him when he wanted something too dangerous—not that there was very much too dangerous for a Dragon Koopa.

Yesterday's events prompted Bowser to rethink the way he was raising Junior. He took care of every problem for him, made sure he got preferential treatment…he was protecting him, nurturing him, but he wasn't disciplining him. He wasn't preparing him for what life could throw at him.

Junior recovered in several hours, and Bowser went back to his kingly duties, but he already had tomorrow on his mind.

Supper only exacerbated matters. Ludwig asked in the most sarcastic manner possible, "Has the crisis of state ended and his royal preciousness recovered from his life threatening injury that was in no way self-inflicted?"

The venom in Ludwig's voice was plain for everyone to hear, and Bowser smacked him upside the skull. That shut Ludwig up, but at the end of dinner he stomped off angrily to his room.

Bowser's relation's with his eldest were at an all-time low. Junior wasn't the only child he needed to fix things with.

Now it was a new day and all of the kids were at school. Bowser was going to take things in a new direction this afternoon. Nothing could go wrong now.

* * *

Wolf regretted not being able to thrash Fox at this year's Super Smash Bros. Tournament, but he couldn't miss the work his new employer on Sauria was giving him. It was also the chance to negotiate between his new employer and Emperor Andrew Oikonny—soon to be Ex-emperor. His new employer had gathered most of Andross's former forces under his banner. All that remained was to dethrone Andrew.

Wolf's Wolfen II held position in the lower atmosphere, waiting for Andrew's fighter to arrive. Andrew believed he was meeting a general who wanted to pledge loyalty to him in secret. In moments Andrew's one man fighter, actually his old Wolfen II, emerged through a cloud layer. Back when Andross was alive, Andrew had been a member of Star Wolf. Going up against a former team member didn't feel right. True, he'd kicked Pigma out of Star Wolf, and he'd had disagreements with Andrew, but the snow monkey had finally left voluntarily to reclaim his uncle Andross's throne. Wolf didn't want to hurt Andrew on a personal level, but business was business. He hoped to see to it that Andrew was treated well.

Wolf hailed Andrew. Andrew answered and saw Wolf on the comm unit.

"Wolf, I was hoping to see you here."

Wolf swallowed and said, "Andrew, you have to eject! I'm destroying your ship in five seconds!"

Andrew was completely clueless to the betrayal that had just taken place. "Wolf, I don't understand!"

Wolf had his weapons locked. He had to begin the countdown, no matter how much he hated it. "Four, three, two…"

Andrew ejected. He released the cord to his parachute as Wolf blew his Wolfen II to pieces.

"You are a traitor, Wolf O'Donnell!"

Wolf could not hear Andrew cursing him but had a good idea of just how disappointed his old team mate would be when noticed where he was landing. Troops from various Venomian factions had gathered at nearby abandoned EarthWalker temple. Wolf's main priority was landing and trying to convince his new employer to go easy on Andrew.

Wolf brought his Wolfen down. He emerged from the cockpit and jumped to the ground in time to hear his new employer speak at the top of the steps leading to the abandoned temple.

"Finally! Andross's nephew is at my mercy!" General Scales began his descent to meet Andrew in person.

Wolf had to hurry to position himself between his new boss and his old boss's nephew. Andrew was already making things worse for himself.

"Anyone who touches me will spend the rest of his days in a Venomian prison!" Andrew then looked at the imposing SharpClaw walking toward him. "General Scales, you look remarkably healthy, for someone who is supposed to be dead."

An alligator sergeant ran up to Andrew and bowed before him. "The Emperor's nephew! Andrew is here!"

"Caiman, it is good that there is some loyalty here."

Scales watched what followed with disgust.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, I'm highly honored," Caiman said. Scales ran the two hooks where his left hand had once been into Caiman's back and out through his chest. Everyone watched in horror.

Scales then mockingly bowed to Andrew and said, "'Thank you, Your Majesty. I'm highly honored.'" He then picked Andrew up by the neck with his right hand. Holding Andrew, he said, "What now should I do with this worthless vermin?"

Wolf ventured forward and said, "Excellency, you have shown Andrew to be powerless in front of most of his former Generals. Why not show them that you can also be merciful?"

Scales stared at Wolf for a moment as he analyzed what his mercenary had just said. Finally, he smiled and laughed. "There is a SharpClaw proverb that while it is better to be feared than loved, it is better still to be both." He looked at Andrew again and spoke loudly so all could hear him.

"I can kill you now and end it all, but I'm prepared to show mercy, if you will submit."

"I wanna live, but I can't betray my uncle," Andrew said.

"Has it ever occurred to you that you are doing just that by remaining in command?" Scales had just displayed before all the generals his intimidating physical strength. Now he was going to display his equally intimidating intellect.

"Andross's scientific work on Corneria was all geared toward preventing a war between Corneria and Macbeth. After he was exiled to Venom he came to understand that no perfect weapon could bring peace to the Lylat System. Only the unbreakable will of a strong individual leader could force peace upon the system. Look at all these generals, Andrew. Have you been able to keep them in line with your own strong unbreakable will?"

Scales turned slowly letting Andrew look into the eyes of the generals who'd switched their allegiance to Scales. They had all seen Andrew as a childlike leader with no coherent plan, clinging on to the memory of his uncle but not contributing any meaningful strategy on his

own.

"I, on the other hand, was genetically engineered to be a warlord and statesman."

That was news to Wolf. Abnormally strong, yes. An unbeaten chess player, yes. A full torso taller than most SharpClaw, yes. But Andross was the only being in the Lylat system who could have done such genetic manipulation.

Addressing the generals, Scales said, "I'm allowing each of you to take blood samples from me and compare them with my SharpClaw followers."

As if on cue when Scales said, "SharpClaw followers," armored allosaurs jumped out of the lower windows of the abandoned temple.

Scales dropped Andrew flat on his backside and said, "Take the blood samples now, stay in Saurian orbit and return in a week. If I'm worth taking a risk on in your eyes meet me at this exact spot. Andrew Oikonny will remain my guest until then. I will give him a second chance to choose between submission or death, but he is never leaving Sauria a free monkey again."

A yellow-scaled SharpClaw with a basin of alcohol approached and Scales washed the pieces of Caiman off his hooks. He then proceeded to let medical officers take blood samples from him and his army. Wolf knew that this was just procedure. The generals had been won over by the sight of Scales amidst the other SharpClaw. Even Wolf had to admit there was something different about Ivar Bluescale.

* * *

Wolf and his team mates Leon and Panther had followed Scales back to his homeland, the Isle of Høyen off the coast of the Moon Mountain region. They were in the heart of SharpClaw territory. When they landed in the hangar bay cut into the same mountain as Scales's castle they got out of their Wolfens.

Leon Powalski, Wolf's chameleon best friend, Star Wolf's interrogator, assassin, and medic, was the first to break the silence.

"There is something frightening about the SharpClaw." For something to rattle Leon's nerves, it had to be troubling indeed.

"That being?" Wolf said, looking around the hangar bay.

"Prior to their affiliation with Venom, they were—and still are—the most aggressive tribe on Sauria. They believe that you must meet a death in battle or your soul will be dishonored forever. I don't know if they still do this or not, but forty years ago they did sentient sacrifices. All of the SharpClaw's most famous cultural heroes were known for killing EarthWalker and CloudRunner women and children. Thorfinr Skull-Spliter, Erikr Bloodaxe. These are not nice guys." Leon closed his eyes and winced.

"This from Leon 'The Torturer' Powalski?" Panther asked as he sniffed his trademark rose.

"I have a skill set that I sell to governments that need it. What the SharpClaw do, they do out of primitive religious beliefs. They only thing that makes me feel safe about staying here is that the SharpClaw fear Scales and he needs us right now."

"I imagine he'll want to move to Andross's old palace on Venom by the week's end," Wolf referenced Scales's recent show for the generals.

"Curious, though," Leon said as they started to leave the hangar bay and walk up the labyrinth of corridors to the throne room, "That Andross would choose to genetically enhance a SharpClaw."

Andross considered himself a progressive, Wolf knew. Maybe Scales was his attempt to elevate the SharpClaw above their superstitious blood-drenched ways. Scales was the most intelligent SharpClaw Wolf knew and was one of the most intelligent individuals Wolf knew excluding Andross himself. But all this talk about the SharpClaw made Wolf note one crucial difference between Scales and Andross. While Andross had no qualms about sending scores of young Venomians off on campaigns from which few would return, he had never killed a subordinate in cold blood, at least not that Wolf had known about. They way Scales had just slaughtered Caiman earlier that day was the most brutal use of sheer terror as a weapon that Wolf had ever seen.

* * *

A week had passed. All the major generals swore oaths of loyalty to Scales as the rightful heir to Andross's empire. He would spend much of the next few weeks reorganizing command centers on Venom, but that was not why he called Wolf into his "office" in the old EarthWalker Temple. Scales was looking at something obscure in the distance but turned when he heard Wolf enter.

"O'Donnell," he said. "I've just received word from my father. He requests my presence on Mushroom Planet."

Wolf was surprised to hear this. "What is your father doing on Mushroom Planet?"

Scales tensed. He was going to have to let this out sometime. He walked backed to a chair he'd had installed in the room and sat. "My father is a monarch on Mushroom Planet who established contact with Andross years ago. He belongs to a crocodilian species called 'Kremling.' Gene-splicing allowed his sperm cell to fertilize my mother's SharpClaw egg cell."

"Kremling?" Wolf recognized the name from the Super Smash Bros. Tournament. They were a faction that received many negative comments from Donkey Kong, Diddy, and Bowser.

"Is your father King K. Rool, sir?" Wolf stood hunched over the seated Scales.

"K. Rool is a nickname. His full name is Crășa Rulenstaen Draculeștior. You may have heard my patronymic before today, but you did not understand it: Ivar Krasjason. He expects me to bring all of Andross's forces under Kremling command. What he doesn't realize is that the first thing I want to do is…ah!" Scales jumped, startling Wolf.

"I will do exactly what my father wants, because by conquering Mushroom Planet I will then have at my disposal the manpower to defeat Corneria. The trick is making my father's death appear natural."

That caught Wolf entirely by surprise. "Sir, are we discussing assassination?"

Scales turned his hand in a semi-circle as if to say, "But of course."

"My father wants to use me as his pawn; I want to use his ambitions to further my ability to make war. We are both for uniting the Kremlings and SharpClaw and conquering the Koopas. He simply thinks he should lead the movement; I think I should. One of us clearly has to go."


	3. Shy Guys

AN: Everything that happens in this chapter occurs during that week Star Wolf is waiting on Sauria.

Bowser III, King of Darklands, was sitting on his stone-gray throne, starring absently across the red carpet that stretched beyond the entry doors toward the events he had planned for this evening. Tonight he'd finally put his domestic squabbles to rest. His spoiling of Junior would stop and he'd charge Ludwig to help provide an example to his younger brother. Peace in the Koopa Royal household would be restored. It was a nice thought. Unfortunately, a thought was all it would ever seem to be, for Kamek, the prime minister, entered through the throne room's red double doors. He carried a look of grave concern on his face. Bowser immediately knew this was trouble.

The elderly Magikoopa had been Bowser's personal attendant since the days of his father, King Morton IV. This made Kamek one of the few beings who could occasionally confront Bowser with ugly truths to his face and not get thrashed in returned.

"Kamek, you look worried. What is the matter?"

All of the Hammer Bros. and Koopatrol knew to remain silent and bowed while their sovereign and leading statesman talked.

Kamek remained silent until he reached a half pace away from Bowser, and then he began.

"Your Majesty, our ancient enemy is giving us cause to worry once again."

Bowser laughed, "Kamek, we have a temporary peace treaty with Peach. We don't have to worry about Mario until we try to kidnap—"

"I said 'our ancient enemy,' not your personal nemesis. The Shy Guys and their relatives!"

Bowser let out a relieved chuckle. They'd earned that particular designation because the Shy Guys were the only foreign power to ever conquer Darklands and hold it for than a century. Bowser's ancestors, had fled to the Pleasant region of Mushroom Kingdom, only to regain their throne when the Shy Guys' ran out of legitimate heirs. There was still a distinct "East Koopa" culture in the Mushroom Kingdom's Koopa Village that dated from that time. But that was a millennium ago when the Shy Guys were a credible threat. To think of them as dangerous today was laughable.

"Kamek, what do we have to worry about Shy Guys, Snifits, and Bandits? Most of them work for me anyway."

Kamek scowled, "Only as mercenaries. You know they went over to Wart and Smithy in the past in large numbers."

Bowser growled, "Get to your point!"

"They're demanding that you increase their pay to thirty-six billion dragon coins at once or they'll defect to K. Rool."

"So? If I can't trust them neither can he!"

"No, but this sudden move suggests that the Kremling King plots a move against you?"

Bowser yawned, "So what else is new?"

"They already have naval superiority over us. If they also have the Shy Guys and their affiliates on their side, we will be at a severe disadvantage."

Bowser nodded.

"I suppose."

Kamek now addressed Bowser in the way that only his childhood guardian could.

"You suppose!? Even Your Majesty is not that dull a tactician!"

The various Hammer Bros. and Koopatrols smiled to themselves about what they dared not say aloud: Bowser was not known for his brains.

"The price the Shy Guys are asking would bankrupt us. Understanding this, their leaders want you to renegotiate a more reasonable price with them. Offer them the lowest amount possible and work your way up while they work their way down."

"I'll make room on my schedule," Bowser said.

Kamek shook his head. "Oh, no, that won't be enough. You have to meet them in person at Booster's Tower."

The thought of that irked Bowser. The seven generations of Boosters were mentally ill humans who were the puppet rulers of the Shy Guys' home region, specifically over the land but not the people. Why the Shy Guy homeland needed insane puppet rulers who had no say in real government was beyond Bowser, but then so was their need for the masks. Lately Booster's wife, Queen Valentina, had been trying to accumulate real power, but she seemed to have become obedient once her slave Dodo turned up dead. Bowser had met the three Snifits tasked with caring for Booster during the Smithy ordeal. They sufficiently creeped him out. They obviously knew how to run the place but they acted almost as insane as Booster himself. Their language was made up of mostly single-syllable words which changed meaning at different at different tones. They were weird all right. Only two things really made Bowser uncomfortable: people who were intolerant of other peoples' cultures, and Shy Guys. The Shy Guys, Snifits, and Bandits were less a real culture than a well-organized mafia/creepy fraternity, however weird they may be.

"No!" Bowser said. "Absolutely not. I'm King of the Darklands. We're one of the big three in the Mushroom World. If the Shy Guys' leaders want a raise, they should come to me! And this is the modern world! They could just call or shoot me an e-mail!"

Kamek crossed his arms.

"These are their terms. Your Majesty might feel safe with them defecting to K. Rool, but no one in the council does. It's that serious."

A majority in the Darklands council technically out-ranked the king. While the Mushroom Kingdom saw the Darklands as an absolute monarchy, that was just simply not true. Koopa Kings had always been held accountable for the welfare of their subjects, but that was the Darklands internal history. The outside perception of them as aggressive conquerors was also correct.

"The majority of the council wants me to go and debase our kingdom in front of robed weirdos in masks?"

Kamek could see Bowser wasn't budging. Time for reverse psychology. The Koopa Troopas in the throne could never bhear what Kamek was about to say to Bowser. The elderly Magikoopa walked over to his king and whispered, "Are you really that afraid of masked weirdos in robes, Your Majesty/"

Bowser instantly roared, not realizing he was betraying his fears to the whole throne.

"No! I've beaten up Shy Guys many times! Why should I be scared?"

"I don't mean individuals. I mean being on their home turf and the sheer alieness of them. I get it. Booster and his Snifits are weird. So haggle back! Meet on neutral ground. Rose Way in the Beanbean Kingdom. For our national survival, you can't let them join K. Rool! Remember Smithy?"

Bowser was still trying to forget.

"All right. I'll meet with them." Bowser was knew that drawing up demands would take hours. His domestic reorganization would have to be postponed until this Shy Guy mess was over.

* * *

The conference hall at K. Rool's resort on Krematoa looked comforting: drab blue carpet with a white bordered red carpet running through the center of the room. The words coming from the Kremling King however were far from comforting.

"Out! Get out all of you!" He screamed at his generals and admirals—all except two.

"Not you, Klump! I want a word with you!" Queen B. knew that K. Rool would want her too.

His general and vassal nodded and stayed while the others fled from K. Rool's wrath.

"Sire?" Klump bowed.

"You idiot! I told to you that I wanted those filthy turtles to feel safe but, NO! You couldn't control yourself! You had to preempt me and today your gung-ho approach has made them more cautious than ever!"

K. Rool looked to Queen B. and said, "Does this sound like a good idea: I think we should a. advance our timetable, call Scales here sooner, and b. since Klump has already started talking to the Shy Guys, offer them Venomian weapons in lieu of cash."

"That ssoundzzz vvery well, my King, but we sshould sstill offer them cash azz well."

"I agree, and we should include Klump's life savings within the sum," K. Rool said turning his eyes to his favorite general. Most generals that failed K. Rool got sent to labor camps, but Klump was always assured a reprieve of that fate. K. Rool enjoyed making him suffer in ways he could see directly. Still he had reason to worry this time. He had never before acted without authorization, and put his King's plans in jeopardy under his own initiative before. He dropped to his hands and knees.

"Your Majesty, please have mercy!"

"Sorry, Klump. I'm fresh out, but I do have one more use for you." K. Rool turned around so that Klump could only see his red cape.

"Since you began this Shy Guy biding war without my authorization, its only right that you have my authorization to continue it."

Klump paused…K. Rool wanted him to continue doing the very thing he was in trouble for?

"I understand your confusion. You see I wanted you to begin this business with the Shy Guys when Scales got here. We would have relied on threats as much as blackmail. And no one would have suspected a threat from the Lylat System to warn the Stars about. Fortunately for you, Venom is still my secret weapon. Scales has just confirmed for me that Andrew Oikony is his prisoner, and he is expecting to be crowned Emperor of Venom within a few days."

"Izz the king counting hizz Kritterzz before they hatch?" Queen B. asked.

"Not really, As I waited for Scales to take control of over half of Venom before I began this plan."

Klump tried to follow this line of thought: K. Rool wanted Scales to be a secret, and he still was. He wanted the Koopas to feel secure, and they didn't. So Klump had only messed up half as badly as he had feared.

"Secrecy is partially gone to us, so we will have to improvise. I want you to continue biding for the Shy Guys' loyalty. I have plans of my own that I'm keeping to myself, and I want Bowser's attention on the Shy Guys."

K. Rool turned and smiled at Klump, "Maybe your stupidity might be useful after all, and hasten the day that Bowser must fall." Then his face hardened. "Leave me. Both of you."

Once Klump and Queen B. had made their exits from the conference room, K. Rool set off for his private room.

Upon getting there K. Rool activated the same device that he'd used to talk to Gannondorf. A different code brought him in contact with a different location, this time one in his own dimension but in another solar system.

When the image on the other side of the screen appeared, K. Rool heard his genetic offspring say, "In what way might the Emperor of Venom aid the King of the Kremlings?"

Scales was leaning his chair back and had his legs crossed as though he'd been interrupted from a good few minutes of relaxing in semi-sleep.

"Where's your cape, Ivar?" K. Rool asked.

"Not to be worn when I'm resting. Do you know how hard it is to get wrinkles out of polyester?"

K. Rool nodded, and was about to begin to speak, when Scales interrupted him, "I take it that this is where you announce to me that time is ready to begin."

"Past time. That idiot Klump has forced has begun biding for the Shy Guy's loyalties. Naturally, this has put Bowser on the defensive."

Scales chuckled.

"What's so funny, Ivar?"

Scales forced himself to stop laughing but the grin on his snout was apparent. He raised his good three fingered hand to say with an open palm and said. "It's just the lack of control you have over your soldiers, _Tata_."

K. Rool scowled. "He will pay, rest assured!"

Scales brought his good hand to his lower jaw. "I suppose after Star Wolf get back from their mission in Hyrule you'll want Leon to punish Klump?"

"Exactly. I'll like humiliating him, but I think this time his insubordination has gone too far. If he needs to die, so be it."

"I shall be returning to Sauria shortly to pick up my troops. Then we will be heading straight for the Mushroom System."

K. Rool nodded. "Well done, Ivar." Then his tone became ominous. "Do not fail me!"

Scales mentally laughed it off.

 _I won't fail. I'm not you._


	4. Venom Arrives

AN: A Dragon Coin is roughly equivalent to one U.S. dollar.

Bowser's plans to meet the Shy Guy leaders in the Beanbean Kingdom had been sabotaged. K. Rool's General Klump had agreed to meet them at Booster's Tower. Bowser naturally had to appease the Shy Guy ego. If a general was the best the Kremlings could do, then the Koopas had to send a king.

So the ten of them—Bowser, Klump, Booster, Valentina, Booster's three Snifit attendants, and three Shy Guy Magistrates—were assembled in Booster's private quarters. The Magistrates wore robes that were quartered into black and white sections and masks with red and yellow quarters.

These guys are freaks, Bowser thought. Still, the Koopa King had to pretend to not be a xenophobe. He needed the Shy Guys and so far the Kremling general had not put his boot-clad foot in his mouth yet.

"So you agree, King Bowser, that our forces are underpaid?" One of the Magistrates asked.

Bowser took a deep breath. "Look guys, I know why you ditched me for Wart and Smithy in the past. I get it and don't hold it against you, but you've got to consider things from my perspective. A fee of one hundred billion dragon coins would create incredible tax burdens on my subjects."

The nearest Magistrate asked, "You are a king are you not?"

"Yes," Bowser said reluctantly, not comfortable with where this was going.

"Then you should have no problem raising taxes," the Magistrate flopped his hands around.

"I'm responsible for my subjects' welfare!" Bowser said trying to navigate between being conciliatory to the Shy Guys and adamant about his duties. Adamancy won.

No one needed to see behind the Magistrates's masks to know they were frowning.

Klump saw an opportunity and raised a finger.

"I'd like to point that all Kremling property belongs to the Kremling Government, whose sole member is King K. Rool. He can raise our taxes to pay you without getting any complaints."

Bowser could not help suppressing a snort.

"I thought your national anthem says, 'Kremlings never shall be slaves?'"

Klump looked confused.

"I don't get what you're saying?"

"I want to understand too!" Booster whined.

"It's easy Master Booster," Snifit 3 explained. "King K. Rool owns Kremlings as property, Bowser would like to do the same to Koopas but can't!" The Snifit shot his old enemy a venomous glare.

"I want to own my own minions!" Booster whined.

"Dear, hush now. I don't want the Magistrates to take away what powers I-I mean you—actually have," Valentina said with a forced smile on her face, not daring to let her true emotions be shown.

"Your Queen is right, don't encourage Booster, or her, Snifit," The rightmost Magistrate said.

The Snifit bowed in apology.

Bowser felt his blood boil. His son Iggy had mental issues like Booster did. If anyone turned him into a puppet ruler/tourist attraction, he'd rip their guts out. Still Bowser had to keep the Shy Guys on his side. He had come to the table prepared to open the bid with five billion. Noting Klump's presence, though he raised the figure.

"Ten billion, that's only a tenth of what you're asking for, but I can get it with without raising problems."

Then Klump, who everyone knew to be an idiot, did something that took everyone by surprise.

"That's a little high for a standard pay rate. You do realize we are only talking about a specific job?"

* * *

There were dozens of Venomese spacecraft in orbit of Mushroom Planet. The generals were all relaxing at some part of K. Rool's resort or another. The fifteen most important were seated at a private table in a room with red carpet, red walls, a red ceiling , and a clear window on the jungle. Wolf O'Donnell had never been to this part of Mushroom Planet before.

K. Rool rose from his seat, clinging a spoon against the side of his beverage.

"Gentlemen, you have come from the Lylat System today, not to serve my needs, but the dream of your former Emperor." K. Rool nodded to his left and said, "Your new Emperor, Ivar Krasjason Bluescale, is the product of Andross's labs and my own genetic essence. He is however, only one of many projects on which Andross and I collaborated."

Wolf was genuinely curios about K. Rool's specific dealings with Andross and why most of Venom had never heard of him. How had K. Rool known about Lylat before the Smash Bros. Tournaments?

I've got my good eye on you, Your Majesty.

K. Rool decided it was time to oblige his audience about why he and Andross had been such close allies and why his interpretation of Ancient Kremling Civilization matched Andross's dreams for a new Lylat: a civilization that lived in harmony with nature and produced scores of doctors, poets, and philosophers. Wolf paid enough attention to know nothing of any substance had been said yet.

Finally though, K. Rool explicitly linked his dream to Andross, "The society I described to you is what we are fighting to restore. I knew Andross personally and considered him a friend; this was what he wanted for the Lylat System. This world houses many tools and resources that will prove invaluable in your conquest of the Lylat Sytem."

Finally, we get to the point, Wolf noted.

"This world contains many magical items that when used together can topple Corneria once and for all. They are scattered throughout this world but you, have an advantage I never did: air and space craft that can cover travel across most of this planet within a day, and weapons capable of destruction that is surpassed only by said items themselves. This entire planet needs to be conquered by Venom. Then, and only then will, will you have these items in addition to your weapons and be strong enough to conquer Corneria."

The generals burst into argument, screaming various dismissals of "We're not your army, K. Rool!" "We're strong enough to take Corneria on our own!" "What a waste of time!"

Wolf said nothing but watched as Scales drew himself to his full towering height.

"Everyone, quiet!" The Emperor snapped.

He walked along the left side of the table, letting his gaze fall on each general on either side of the table.

"I ask everyone to remember what happened to Andross when he tried to conquer Corneria. Look what happened to him and our relative strength now. My father is giving us a chance to rebuild our strength outside of Corneria's view. We shall return and conquer Lylat, have no fear, for I have a personal score to settle with Fox McCloud. I never finished my battle with him and I always finish my battles. This is merely our first step." Everyone looked at Scales and knew he meant what he said. Andross had interrupted his last battle with McCloud, and they knew the Emperor never left battles unfinished, which led to the Emperor's next question

"Might I make one request?" Scales asked K. Rool

"All right," K. Rool said, eager to get the generals' obedience.

"I'd like to leave Andrew Oikonny with you."

* * *

Wolf O'Donnell noted the confined space they were in. The door to the main suite closed, and blocked by K. Rool's bodyguard Krusha. The couch on one side of the clear table occupied by K. Rool who held a chain that ended in a collar around Andrew's neck. Andrew sat on the floor. Scales reclined on the couch opposite K. Rool. Wolf stood with his back to the door into the room.

"This was not part of our agreement!"

Wolf had never seen Andrew so furious.

"Our deal was that I renounce my claim on the throne, become your prisoner, and stay alive. This didn't include exiling me to Mushroom Planet!"

"I'm not breaking any of our agreements. You're alive and a prisoner. Leaving you with the Kremlings is my safest option. I'm not safe with you on Venom and you're not safe with the Sharpclaw on Sauria. They'll try to kill you, and make it look like an accident."

Scales statement shocked K. Rool, Wolf, and Andrew. Scales then got up and jerked the chain out of K. Rool's hand, causing Andrew to gag.

"No!" Scales said defiantly. "None of you misheard me! I need him alive. Yes, I do want him dead, but I've given my word that his life is safe until he betrays me. If I'm to be credible, my word must be credible." K. Rool smiled.

"Your uncle engineered him to be a tactical and diplomatic genius."

"Some genius! He couldn't see how my uncle was using him in the end!" Andrew said and Scales yanked his chain, causing him to shriek.

"Everyone thought Andross was dead then. I am not so foolish as to think I'm infallible," Scales said. "That was your uncle's mistake!"

"He was crazy and he still got you to do what he wanted! What does that say about you?" Andrew said to Scales.

"I said Andross was crazy, not stupid. Your uncle was the greatest scientific genius the Lylat system has ever seen. I assure you, had I known he was alive things would have turned out quite differently!" Scales turned his intimidating gaze from Andrew to K. Rool "This is why we must be sure that Bowser is crushed! And that we have the completed Triforce from Hyrule."

K. Rool brought his gaze to Wolf. "That's where you come in, O'Donnell."

Wolf tensed, unsure of what K. Rool was going to ask him.

"You're a moral neutral, a gun for sail to the highest bidder. I have a mission for Star Wolf in a Gannondorf's homeland. It's very dangerous, but if you're successful, money should never be a problem again."

Wolf recognized that name from the Super Smash Bros. Tournament. "As you said, that's very dangerous."

"You will be working for me, not Scales," K. Rool said before standing. "Give me a number."

Wolf smiled.

* * *

That night after K. Rool's guests were back on their vessels or in bed at his resort, the Kremling monarch had his chauffer drive his black limousine to the secret search. Scales had brought nanites from Venom, which he had completely turned over to K. Rool's henchmen. The leading Kremling neuroscientists and computer technicians had successfully replicated one of Andross's experiments: encoding memories as computer signals.

This was a game changer for K. Rool in his battle with his true greatest enemy: his son.

K. Rool knew that he would only be in the way while Scales ruled the Lylat system, making a him prime target for assassination, perhaps even by Star Wolf's Leon Powalski.

K. Rool feared dying, but fortunately he had a solution. He and Scales had been over the plan often enough. When they had the Star Rod and the Triforce, K. Rool would absorb various power sources into his body. Of course, K. Rool expected to be dead by then. Scales commanded resources. The murder would come from his camp.

Preserving his memories in these nanites was the key. Scales would want to incorporate these nanites, and in so doing, incorporate his father's memories.

K. Rool had to make sure his memories survived any purge by his son. That was where the Triforce came in. Star Wolf had to succeed in Hyrule.

K. Rool paused his musings for a moment. Gannondorf was a friend, but he couldn't be allowed to live. K. Rool gave his friend a moment of silence, and when exactly sixty seconds had passed, he spoke to his chauffeur, "The Venomians herald the beginning of a new chapter in Kremling history. Remember today young reptile."

The Spiked-headed, thin, purple-scaled chauffeur did not dare to speak unless spoken to. But now that he had been spoken to, he did not know what to say.

"As you say, your majesty."

The chauffeur did not detect any of K. Rool's nervousness. His voice betrayed his own. K. Rool enjoyed having that effect on people.


	5. Wrong Prince, Wrong Country

AN: The songs Ludwig plays are inspired by the French Rock Opera Notre Dame de Paris, however, because French would be too close to the Romanian-based Kremling language I'm using, I've used lyrics in Irish. I've figured since the Shamans had such influence in the Mushroom Kingdom in the Paper Mario series and so many had some version of "Merlon" as their names, I'd give the people most influenced by them Celtic languages, but not using any of the pronouns. Also a lot of syllable splicing to fit the original songs' meters.

Ludwig sat at his piano playing the score of " _Bhuil an Domhan Éagórach"_ (The World is Unjust) a song from a pessimistic Toad Rock-Opera _Beacán Baile Ardeaglais_ (Cathedral of Toad Town) There were so many songs in that depressing yet-oh-so-true opera that Ludwig felt applied to his own life. The world was unjust.

He would give his father the moon if it would make him love him, but that would do no good. Junior on the other hand, owned Dad's heart without giving him a thing. It wasn't fair!

" _Bhuil an Domhan Éagórach_ ," Ludwig sang along with the score he was playing, blinking as tears formed. He substituted some words even though it broke the meter and rhyme scheme of the song to make the more applicable to himself and his father and switching from controlled poetic Toad, to emotional disorderly Koopa.

" _My knowledge is an insult to your insolent strength!_

 _An error of nature made me…not a beefcake."_

Ludwig paused for a moment.

Jr. wasn't exactly beefcake material either. Ludwig actually beat him there. Roy was the one most like Dad in that area, and, as the third hatched, should come way before Junior if Ludwig were to be replaced.

Junior had some kind of unidentifiable quality that Ludwig just couldn't grasp, let alone compete with. It was, once again, unfair!

" _And who do the Stars still prefer,_

 _And leave the beggars at the door?"_

Ludwig could get why the Star Spirits had it in for his Dad, but what had he ever done to be worthy of their disfavor? Why did Junior deserve their favor for that matter?

All the little pig thought about was what he wanted, when he wanted it, and how he wanted it. And the answers were always predictable: attention, toys, or candy, right now, and in large quantity.

There.

Ludwig had found it. Dad and Junior were so close because the shared the same ravenous id, the most infantile part of the subconscious. Ludwig did not want to be like that to get his father's love and approval. Bowser III's id was the reason Darklands was always in trouble with the Mushroom Kingdom. He began lusting after Princess Peach with Queen Clawdia barely in the grave. And Junior, the brat, who hadn't hatched till Mom was gone was now his favorite. Ludwig literally felt his stomach twist every time Daddy's favorite said "Mama Peach."

Ludwig would not, could not, must not, let Junior succeed to the throne. To do so would be to betray his mother. He wouldn't cry. He had to be tough.

His choice of song was all wrong. He wasn't the deformed Toad wanting the love the beautiful Goomba maiden, he was the ruthless, cheating Toad Knight who was forcefully ordering the outcasts to keep out.

He struck up a new tune from the same rock opera, "The Attack of Toad Town Cathedral." The martially ordered rises and falls fit his mood perfectly.

" _Téigh am'ch, gan doiciméid._

 _Téigh am'ch, dul cosnochta!"_

 _Get out, you undocumented,_

 _Get out, you barefoot._

That's what Junior was: undocumented: unhatched until Mom was dead. He thought of Peach, not Clawdia, as mother. Ludwig did need to find rhyming Koopa lyrics this time. The unrhymed Toad original fit perfectly.

"A most appropriate song, perhaps you should sing it to the nation."

Ludwig looked up to see Kamek. The elderly Magikoopa was so silent, his presence surprised the Koopaling.

This was a battle song, so Ludwig picked up the meaning very quickly.

"Who's invading?"

"They have spaceships, but they haven't made any kind of announcement were they are from or what they want. We do know that they are being supported by Kremling ground troops."

The color drained from Ludwig's face.

"Get me to the Council Building, and bring me as much information about the attackers as possible. I have a broadcast to make."

"At once, my prince."

Ludwig was already making his way to his clown car. Even so his mind was focused on the details of the invasion. The space borne invaders were being supported by Kremling ground troops. There were three ports in the Mushroom continent that were under Kremling control: one in southern Dry Dry Dessert, one in the Northern Beabean Kingdom, and one here in Southern Darklands. Ludwig immediately wanted to know if either of those regions were under attack, but he already knew that the aliens were using Krematoa or Kaos Kore as their base of operations on this planet. Ludwig found himself hoping that the other areas were being attacked, not because he wanted them to be attacked, but because then K. Rool's moves would make more sense. Ingratiating himself with a powerful superior who could otherwise destroy him was K. Rool's style. Selling out his own safety just to get rid of Darklands certainly wasn't.

* * *

Bowser could not believe his luck! Klump only wanted to hire the Shy Guys for specific missions, he was okay with the remaining under Bowser's employ most of the time. And Bowser paid more over time than Klump was offering per assignment. The second day of negotiation had been all downhill. He had the Magistrates' favor and no one, not Klump, Booster, Valentina, or even those creepy Snifits could rain on his parade. All that was left was to stamp the royal seal of Darklands on the contract. Bowser was in the very act of doing so when two of his private Koopatrol broke into Booster's room.

The Magistrates turned to face them.

"Get out! Your king is almost finished!"

"But this is a national emergency!"

"Guys, I just stamped the treaty. What's going on?"

The Koopatrol dropped to one knee and said, "King Bowser, Darklands is being attacked by space ships and the Kremling Navy!"

Bowser jerked his head in Klump's direction.

"This was never about these loser Shy Guys was it? You just wanted to keep me distracted!"

"Pretty much," Klump said.

Bowser growled a gravely throaty growl. "I'm going on the counterattack starting with you!"

The Koopa King unleashed the full force of his fire breath on the Kremling general. Klump, severely crisp lay whimpering on the ground.

Bowser then stared angrily at the Magistrates, remembering for the first time since this conference began that he alone in the room was a king.

"If you even think of siding with K. Rool, I'll burn you all!" Everyone was notably silent. Bowser then addressed the Koopatrol.

"C'mon! We've gotta get back to Darklands now!"

They marched out of the room following Bowser's angry stomps. Bowser's mind was consumed by two topics: the safety of his kingdom and the safety of his children. Junior would be especially scared right now, and Ludwig would most likely be delivering an impromptu speech before the Darklands Council. Bowser didn't doubt Ludwig's talents or Roy and Morton's toughness, but he was very worried about Junior, and his psychologically unstable son Iggy. Hopefully, Wendy could keep things together until he got back. She was always the most mature of his kids, except when it came to chic fashion fads. Still, she could manage in Daddy's absence, Bowser hoped.

* * *

"It is currently unknown where the Kremlings' spaceborn allies come from, but their technology far surpasses any threat Darklands has ever faced, including Smithy's Gang. We can only wish to the Stars for an end to the attack—"

Ludwig turned off the television.

He had quickly found out that there were no other attacks. Only Darklands bore the alien/Kremling assault, and since the Mushroom Kingdom was not being attacked, "Why," every member of the council wondered, "should our archenemy try to help us?" Ludwig tried to tell them that the aliens were an existential threat to the entire planet, but the Council had laughed at him.

Were these morons really elected by the people of Darklands? Could Ludwig's own people really be that stupid?

The answer had been staring him in the face all along. The public loved his father and every idiotic decision he made whether it moved them from bad to worse or not. He was the hero who took the capital back from Smithy, with the help of Princess Peach. Mario had conveniently been written out of the history books.

He then realized that he hated his own country. Everyone wanted shallow easy to understand answers to complex issues. They were marching over a cliff because they couldn't ask the Mushroom Kingdom for help. When the Council shot down Ludwig's appeal to the Mushroom Kingdom, he rightly pointed out that they couldn't win on their own so they should try to surrender. They accused him, who had until that point wanted his country to survive to be traitor. Was it treason to want his country to survive, to want a chance to have the same access to the alien leaders that K. Rool did, to present Darklands side of the story? No, going out showing strength mattered more than self-preservation. Saving face was more important than saving your whole people's very existence. If it had been a question of Dad's individual honor, then it might be different. But all those fools could see was Bowser III's personal honor.

They deserve to be killed by ray guns and spaceships!

What would happen though to all the loyal Darklanders they represented? Anyone could see that these space invaders were a threat to the entire Mushroom World. If there was ever a reason to bury the hatchet with the Mushroom Kingdom and make an alliance, it was now. They needed the Mario Bros. But the Council was so…so…intransigent! Ludwig picked up his calculus text book and threw it against the wall. The resulting thud prompted a knock on Ludwig's door.

"What do you want?" He griped as he opened the door…and saw Junior.

"I heard a thud. Are you okay?"

"What do you care?" Ludwig asked, surprised that Prince Bowser actually cared. Fortunately the brat dispelled that notion quickly.

"Well ya see, there are aliens invading, and I need all my big brothers in tip-top shape to protect me."

Ludwig slapped his face with his palm. Junior was using the real and troubling security situation to live out his alien invasion fantasy. Ludwig stared at his youngest sibling.

"You do realize that they can be reasoned with. The Kremlings have obviously made some kind of deal with them."

"The Kremlings are loosers," Junior said.

"No," Ludwig said, "They're survivors. Making a deal when you can't survive is smart. What we need to do is make a deal with the Mushroom Kingdom and use the Mario Bros. against them."

"You mean with Mama Peach?" Junior asked hopefully.

Urgh! Ludwig's stomach twisted. Ludwig hoped that his mother was safe in the Overthere beyond all insult. Still he hated how Junior called another "Mother". Bowser Jr.'s egg was still unhatched when Clawdia died, so if Ludwig were as rational as he prided himself on being he should understand why Junior had never bonded with her as mother. Still, in Ludwig's eyes, Junior was less of a sibling than the others. He never stopped to think that was the reason for their father's apparent favoritism. It made much more sense to Ludwig that Bowser wanted to start a new family with Peach as the mother, Junior as the only son and the others as adopted children. These attempts to kidnap Peach were attempts to rob Ludwig of his birthright.

The elder Dragon Koopa roughly grabbed his brother by his neck, nearly choking him

"If you want to believe Princess Peach is your mother, go ahead, but don't do it in my presence!"

Ludwig dropped Junior on his bottom, only to have his brother yell about how mean he was. Ludwig responded in a comparatively dispassionate voice.

"You are a pampered brat."

With that, Ludwig closed the door to his room. He quickly reopened the door and stormed away. He needed to get to his piano. That was the only way to exorcise the thought he just had out of his brain. It was too evil, even for Ludwig: let the brat become the official heir, then have the invaders get rid of him.


	6. The Siege

This Chapter spans a period of several months.

Bowser had returned in time to see a shadowy figure calling himself Emperor Scales of Venom make threats on Darklands TV. Bowser had remembered the words exactly.

"Citizens of Darklands, I hope none of you were injured too badly by my opening salvo, but I needed you to know how serious I am. My name is General Scales, Emperor of Venom. I am here to annex your kingdom. I repeat that I think very highly of the Koopa species, and the entire reason I'm invading is because I want to be your leader. You'd rather have your own leaders. I understand this, but I must add your forces to my own, and if you will not bend, you will have to be broken. I give you the choice, submit and join my army, or suffer the consequences of full-scale invasion. I will be merciful to all who surrender but make no mistake, oppose me and die!"

Venom? Bowser believed he heard that name in association with the Lylat System. But hadn't they been leaderless since the death of that monkey-guy, Andy-something? Star Fox had beaten them, and Bowser had a fair record against Star Fox in the Tournament. These guys shouldn't be any trouble. Bowser gave the command to defy Scale's message and the Darklands went to war. Now that he knew who he was fighting his fears had subsided, yet even when he'd thought he'd loose he'd never have dreamed it would be so hopelessly one-sided. The Venomians had devastated Bowser's air navy. Most of the airships were destroyed; the few that remained had large chunks blown out of them and were no longer flight worthy. Bowser had appeared on TV urging Darklands to never surrender, but then retreated to his bunker deep beneath his castle.

For the last three and a half weeks, Venomian space craft had been pounding away at his armed forces. Most civilian homes had been spared the attack. The Venomians wanted Koopa soldiers in their ranks after all. Bowser's castle though was in shambles. All of towers not part of the central building had been blown off. And it wasn't just the Venomians attacking from the air—Kremling and SharpClaw forces were overrunning the Koopa Troopas and Goombas on the ground. The Shy Guys, who were only hired mercenaries, knew which way the winds were blowing. Realizing it was only a matter of time before Venom won, they sold out, not to the Kremlings as Bowser had negotiated against, but to Venom directly.

Bowser looked around his current room. His eight children: Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, Iggy, Wendy, Larry, and Bowser Jr. were all inside. So were Bowser's advisors Kamek and Kammy The stone tiles that made up so much of Bowser's castle were absent down here. Walls of solid Koopanium covered by steel, which were in turn covered by concrete, gave the bunker a more solid and more modern feel. It was still all grey however. Bowser saw that each of his children had sleeping bags and that there were enough rations to withstand a three month siege.

"Just try to let these Lylat invaders blow their way in here. They'd need an atom bomb!" Bowser said proudly. Darklands had suffered worse when Smithy took over Bowser's castle. Yet Bowser was back, stronger than ever. So far the Venomian had not even done that.

"They may not need to blow us out if they can starve us out," the diminutive Kammy Koopa said.

"Already ahead of you on that one," Bowser said and he opened the door and walked down the grey angular corridor that included all the rooms on the deepest level of the bunker. He continued talking as he walked. "I've made sure that if anyone wants to starve us out, they'll be in for a long wait."

They stopped in front of the door that led to the storage room. Bowser opened it. The room was filled with cupboards and refrigerators.

"Enough food in there to help us withstand the siege for three months."

"Sire, how many of us can this support?" Kamek looked skeptical that the supplies in this room could sustain the inhabitants of Bowser's castle for three months.

"Naturally, we're going to have to let some of our staff go," Bowser shrugged, finally admitting.

"How many?" Kammy said, increasingly nervous.

"About everyone except fifty Koopatrol, my kids, you guys, and me."

Kammy slapped her forehead. Bowser was keeping his best trained troops, but forcing everyone else out of the castle was suicide. Many of the soldiers would defect to Venom. Most of the news that they had been gathering had reported that Koopa and Goomba families surrendering to the SharpClaw and Kremlings were allowed to keep their property and live with all the rights and privileges that they had enjoyed under Bowser. Those who resisted were systematically killed, their houses turned into headquarters for the invaders, and their material wealth carried off as plunder by the SharpClaw. There were doubtless loyal subjects who would not betray their king for any reason, but when the people of the countryside were seeing the consequences in their day to day lives, they were finding that Emperor Scales could grant life or death and that Bowser lacked the ability to grant either.

"You do realize that the Venomian Emperor is creating a mood of compliance if not outright collaboration among your subjects."

"They won't stay away from Lylat that long." Bowser patted the wall beside him. "In these walls we'll outlast them. And without Venom to back them up, the Kremlings will go too."

"Prehaps Your Majesty has not heard what Scales has been saying," Kammy said.

Bowser looked confused. The reach of their intelligence into Venomian-controlled territory grew shorter as said territory grew larger.

"Scales has been broadcasting this message on Koopa frequencies: 'Join the Venomian Army and seek your fortune and glory on Corneria. We will provide your transport there and back. Be the first inhabitants of Mushroom Planet to win glory in Lylat!'" Bowser's face grew increasingly grim as he listened to Kammy.

"Why wasn't I told this earlier?" Bowser shouted. If he had known Scales was after soldiers, he could've reached the same deal with him that K. Rool apparently had.

"Why didn't we try negotiating with Scales?" Bowser shouted at the top of his lungs.

"We never had the opportunity to negotiate. The Venomian have been bombing our military installations, and the Kremlings have been enforcing their surrender or die policy, since the invasion began. It's likely that K. Rool sold out to Scales in exchange for dethroning you," Kammy said.

Bowser stopped listening when Kammy said that K. Rool had sold out. That was not the Kremling King he knew. He knew that his rival was the most informed villain on the other worlds. Bowser had fought Ganondorf in the Tournament but all his attempts to form an alliance with the Gerudo leader had been thwarted by the latter's prior commitments to K. Rool. He had attempted to contact that Andy guy from Venom in the past but that meeting had ended with the Emperor calling him a "mentally-challenged turtle, interested only in conquest."

K. Rool was a master chess player, and made alliances with similarly minded villains, and made enemies out of the more reactive, emotion-governed villains. So why was K. Rool throwing his full weight behind this Scales character now? Bowser knew nothing about his enemy, but K. Rool had likely shared everything he knew about Bowser with Scales.

The other great mutual nemeses, Ludwig and Bowser Junior, were already having their own clash over recent events.

"Papa's a genius! There's no way the aliens can get us down here!" Junior looked around gleefully. To his great surprise Luddy smiled and actually agreed with him.

"You're absolutely correct!" Ludwig beamed back to him, as the quite deliberate frown gradually morphed from the smile.

"…Until the food runs out!" Ludwig said ominously, frightening Junior.

The youngest Koopaling looked behind his shoulder at his father and called, "Dad!"

Bowser came running from the back of the room.

"Yes, my little prince?"

"Luddy just said we might run out of food."

Bowser picked up Junior and patted him on his shell. "Unh-unh. The fighting won't last that long."

Ludwig could not resist a jab at his father who had proved to be the most inept king in Darklands history.

"You do realize that the fighting is going to go on until Scales has our submission. It would be kinder to be brutally honest with the child than feed him false hope."

Bowser pointed a claw at his first-hatched.

"Shut-up, Ludwig! You're not a parent!"

"Nor am I likely to be one if you turn us all into martyrs."

Bowser remembered what had happened the last time he'd lashed out at Ludwig. "You're a teenager, this is just rebellious hormones talking, so I'll ignore it."

"Your minions defecting to Scales are in all age ranges. They aren't blinded by hormones. They see you for the incompetent oaf you really are!"

That was taking it too far! Bowser let his flame breath fly, but Ludwig stepped out of the way and Iggy got burned.

The krispy Koopaling looked at his father, his glasses broken.

"Why?" he moaned.

"It was your brother, Iggy!"

"You flamed me, you liar!" Iggy shouted back and ran.

Bowser put Junior down and chased after his unstable son.

"Iggy!" Bowser pleaded.

* * *

Three months had passed. Bowser watched as his children ate the last of the rations. Scales had still not lifted the siege. Bowser now had no option. He had to surrender. He looked at Kammy Koopa and said to her, "Bring me Koopatrol TR39."

Kammy curtsied and left the room as Bowser slumped on the couch and stared at his children, thinking. Scales had landed troops in the villages nearest Bowser's castle and those villages were now completely in Venomian control. Koopa society in the homeland was mainly agrarian: families sowed the volcanic soil, while the young males joined Bowser's army, previously the largest in the Mushroom World. These Koopas were the ones fighting to protect their homes. But Bowser's army had always been heavily dependent on mercenaries, paid off by the rare gemstones that the volcanoes of the homeland produced. The Koopas in Koopa Village and other areas in the Koopa diaspora were mainly loyal to Princess Peach and would not fight for Bowser anyway. Those from other areas would fight for money. Inorganic Chomps, Thowmps, and Bullet Bills were the heavy hitters in Bowser's army, actually native to Darklands. While they could repulse Kremlings easily enough, the laser fire from the Venomians severely weakened them; a feeling they were not used to. Their casualties were high and they were usually the last to surrender. Yet, surrender they did. There were many of them still in the sole standing central tower of the castle. Bowser hoped to get them to form a wall around his children tomorrow.

By now the Koopatrol that Bowser requested had reached the room and was knocking on the door. Bowser got up, opened the door and stared at the Koopatrol he had summoned.

"Sid, I want you to go up to the top of the castle and raise a white flag. Can you do that?"

Sid nodded.

"Good. Go do it."

Bowser saw that Kammy was approaching, so he left the door open as Sid ran down the hall. When Kammy reached Bowser she curtsied and he motioned for her to enter the room. Then he shut the door behind them.

"What does Your Majesty hope to accomplish with this Koopatrol?"

"Send a message to Scales. I'm willing to negotiate surrender."

Bowser took his seat back on the couch. At the word surrender, all of his children looked at him.

The kids weren't stupid. They'd known about this day coming for almost as long as they were in the bunker. Ludwig had known since the beginning.

"Finally, you surrender. Now we can begin negotiating," Ludwig said mater-of-factly.

"Well we finally have no choice. Scales knows that K. Rool wants us dead, which should make it worth his while to keep us alive in the Lylat System."

"'Can we trust him, Papa?" Junior asked.

"I think turning ourselves in to Scales at this point, when the war is essentially over and all our land under Venomian control, is actually our safest bet."

* * *

Bowser kept going over his words to his children in his head as he stood before Scales. The Emperor's personal warship had been hovering directly over Bowser's Castle days at a time over the past three months. Bowser had been shown into Scales's private command chamber by two SharpClaw guards. Everything in the room was solid black except for the windows, and the massive steel chair that was now facing away from Bowser. When the doors to the chamber slid shut, Scales asked Bowser, without turning, "Why are you here?"

Bowser was slightly dumbfounded at that remark.

"I thought it should be obvious: to safeguard myself and my children now that Darklands is in your undisputed control, august one."

Scales listened as Bowser told him things he already knew, still not turning.

"So this is Mario's famed arch-nemesis, concerned about the fate of his children? Now that you're kingdom is mine, there will be nothing left for them to inherit. Why care what happens to them at this stage?" Of course, Scales knew that if he was overthrown before his own plans were complete, Bowser's children might yet have a chance to regain what was rightfully theirs. Still he did not want that idea floating around in Bowser's head.

"I just want to know that they're safe. That means more to me than what they can inherit!"

Either Bowser was a very good actor, which Scales doubted, or he genuinely cared about his children. If that was so, it was best that they be kept under Scales's custody. He would always have a tool to taunt Bowser with, and eight heirs to the Koopa throne to mentally reshape and mold as he saw fit.

"Not all parents care for their children in such a way. My father certainly does not. I suppose I should use the term 'father' loosely as I'm something of a genetic experiment." Scales finally rotated his chair one hundred and eighty degrees so that he and Bowser could look each other in the eyes. Bowser noticed the hooks on Scales's missing hand.

"War wound," Scales said.

He then looked at Bowser and said, "I will be taking your children to Venom, from whence you will be sent regular video feeds on them. However, you must remember that they are my hostages. Serve me well and you can expect to them again as leaders of the Koopa state under Venom. Betray me and I will kill them," Scales said. And he began bending his fingers and said, "One by one." He only had three fingers to bend but the principle had been established. He was already wondering what to do about Ludwig, Lemmy, and Roy. They were nearly adults and unlikely to be conducive to mental remolding, but Scales loved a challenge. His immediate attention was needed back on Krematoa as soon as possible. O'Donnel had just returned from Hyrule, and that meant it was time for the next phase of Scales's plan to begin.


	7. Assassin

Star Wolf stood in the uppermost chamber of Ganondorf's northwest tower. It had taken three months to obtain the Triforce of Wisdom and the Triforce of Courage. The official story that Wolf had told Ganondorf was that he was only collecting these pieces as part of K. Rool's plan to help Ganondorf conquer Hyrule. The truth was quiet different.

Wolf, Panther, and Leon had trudged through dirt roads, thick forests, mountain passes, river fords, and desert trails. They had to pretend that they were seeking aid from Zelda and Link to get close enough to steal the two Triforce fragments. Their lasers came in handy in escaping Hylian guards and in slaughtering food, but sleeping on the ground without so much as a blanket had taken its toll on the trio. They were eager to return to the Mushroom Universe, but one task—their most difficult—still awaited them. They had to kill Ganondorf and take the Triforce of Power and his interdimensional transporter.

They had persuaded Ganondorf to meet with them in private, rather than in his grand audience chamber. So they were here, in this small room with a small, tan, wooden table at which to sit. A purple banner hung vertically over the door and window and balcony were on the opposite side of the room.

Wolf pulled out a chair and sat down. He looked to Leon and encouraged him to do the same. Leon was ectothermic and the fairly cool weather of Hyrule had been hard on him. He was the one who helped Wolf develop the terrifying persona he now employed, the team medic, the one who held the key to defeating Ganondorf. Inside the vest he brought with him were syringes filled with various drugs.

"We'll use a sedative," Wolf said. Panther and Leon both looked at him.

"Ganondorf, and his enemies only want what is best for their respective peoples. We have no interest in seeing either side prevail. Zelda and Link are still alive, therefore Ganondorf will stay alive. He will be here at any moment. I suggest you sit down, Panther."

Panther pulled up a chair opposite Leon. "I tell you Wolf, I will be glad when we are back in Lylat where there are women with fur."

That was typical Panther. One topic was nearly always on his mind. Wolf liked the ladies too, but Panther had made the romantic outlaw into his whole persona.

The door swung open and Ganondorf closed it behind him.

"Well, my rogues, I take it your quest was successful?"

"Indeed it was," Wolf said as Ganondorf took a seat directly across from him.

"Then I finally have all three pieces of the Triforce."

"No," Wolf said, "I have two pieces of the Triforce. You have one."

Ganondorf mentally turned over everything that Wolf had just said and everything that he knew about Wolf from the tournament.

"What is your price, O'Donnell?"Ganondorf said using the formal "ye" with O'Donnel rather than the familiar "thou" he used with K. Rool. He could easily kill all three members of Star Wolf but he enjoyed toying with their leader right now. He knew that they were planning some kind of attack when Leon got up from his seat. When the chameleon attacked from behind, he would grab him, throw him over his head and hit Wolf. Ganondorf stopped thinking, however, when the needle entered his neck. Leon's sedative would keep Ganondorf asleep for hours.

"Now, we need to collect the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf's interdimensional transporter, and get back to K. Rool."

* * *

"You did _**What!?**_ "

K. Rool stood in the room where he had previously discussed his plans with Scales and Wolf. The Venomian Emperor was present, seated, but K. Rool's attention was on Star Wolf, also seated.

"This level of incompetence, I would expect from my own soldiers, but you're Star Wolf! I hired you because you are supposed to be elite mercenaries. Why did you not kill Ganondorf once you had him sedated?"

"Link and Zelda still live. We thought killing Ganondorf would give them an unfair advantage," Wolf said.

"What does that matter to our contract? I need the Triforce to reignite the energy vent of Crocodile Core to raise Crocodile Isle above the waves. I never want to deal with anyone from Hyrule ever again! If preserving the balance of power was so important, you should've killed all of them!"

"I'm not your subject; you're not my king," Wolf said. "I'm a mercenary. You paid me to bring back the three pieces of the Triforce. I've done that. Now you owe me money."

"You'll get paid, I know how to do my job," K. Rool spat back at Wolf.

There was something in K. Rool's voice and emotions that reminded Wolf of the tone Scales had used with Caiman. It also, disturbingly, reminded him of Pigma Dengar.

Wolf was a creature of few moral inhibitions but he did everything with a sense of fair sportsmanship. Pigma, on the other hand had been one to break contracts and engage in unnecessary bloodshed when it suited him. There few things that Wolf held above profit, but honor was one of them. Pigma cared only for profit as it now seemed K. Rool cared only for power.

"You shall find the agreed upon price has been entered in your bank account, though I think the thrill of the hunt was incentive enough for you." K. Rool's words stung with just a taste of truth in them. Wolf _was_ a predator and he _did_ like his line of work, but K. Rool had made it sound like something to be ashamed of.

"Don't judge them too harshly, _Tata,_ " Scales said. "If it's a cause they're invested in, they're dedicated fighters."

"That's great for them, Scales, but your priorities must extend beyond the Lylat System. I still can't believe you let Powalski so close to classified Kremling facilities the day before Star Wolf left for Hyrule."

Wolf looked at Leon, who obviously had his pride hurt just a bit. Leon had a genius level IQ, and had once been a psychiatrist with the Cornerian Air Force before being arrested as a serial killer. No one knew the full details of how he escaped and ended up on Venom. Though Wolf had quite a natural talent as both a pilot and a leader, it was Leon's skills with psychological warfare that made Star Wolf the terror of the Lylat System. Still, as indebted as he was to him, Wolf never forgot that Leon introduced himself as a high–functioning sociopath, which his subsequent behaviors only confirmed.

"I have nothing more to say to Star Wolf at this time," K. Rool said.

Scales rose from his seat, "Star Wolf is as of this moment back on my payroll. You may be done with them, _Tata_ , but I'm not."

"Fine," K. Rool paced, "Order them out of this room."

Scales motioned and the mercenary team left the room. K. Rool sat in the chair at the head of the table with only Scales in attendance.

"I meant _all_ of you!" K. Rool glared at his son.

Scales bowed and left.

When K. Rool heard the door shut, he dared to think about what must happen.

He had to use the Triforce's abilities to form new connections between his mind and Andross's nanites—connections Scales couldn't detect. The next item on their agenda was the Star Rod. Because it could grant its wielder anything they wished for, Scales must plan on betraying his father before that.

Scales craved immortality as much as K. Rool did, so he would try to use the nanites along with his new powers to extend his lifespan. Since he had given K. Rool the nanites in the first place, he would suspect K. Rool's scheme, but thanks to the Triforce he'd find no trace of his father. The trap was set and the prey approached.

It had to be this way of course.

Only Scales could command Venom, and K. Rool needed Venom to get the Star Rod. Once Scales had the Star Rod he would proceed to strip the exiled Krazoa beneath Rogueport of her powers. K. Rool's mind would be waiting back in the nanites.

Things could only happen in that order.

Besides, as much as he hated the prospect of being physically killed, K. Rool knew that his own body was a disappointment. His hereditary spinal condition meant that he could never do proper sit ups or crunches.

K. Rool loved exercise. Few in Mushroom world could run faster, hit harder, or jump higher and farther. But despite his strength, the signs of his limited exercise range were apparent on his belly.

K. Rool avoided fatty and sweet foods like the plague, not to lose the weight he already had, but to avoid gaining more. His stomach naturally poked forward a bit, his spinal condition not helping. That was a gene that Andross had kindly deleted from Scales's makeup.

Now it was time to get repaid for all he'd invested in his "son."

He'd been an interstellar emperor, and have a body worthy of the title.

* * *

Scales was on board his battle cruiser that Star Wolf was currently using to house their Wolfens. Scales was in his command room. He had summoned Bowser, who had been living on board since the collapse of Darklands, because he knew the Koopa King would love what he was about to suggest. He had also summoned the agent of his plans, Leon Powalski.

"Bowser, how would you like hearing about the death of my father?"

Bowser hesitated. Scales had yet to bring him before K. Rool. He had so far been spared the ultimate humiliation of being forced to kiss his enemy's feet.

"Is this a trick question, Majesty?"

"No. He has served his purpose. Soon Venomese engineers will be combining the pieces of the Triforce and searching for ways to harness its power. When that day comes, I will be able to raise Crocodile Isle, and open portals large enough to send my invasion fleet to other dimensions. The only thing standing between myself and ultimate power is my father."

Bowser carefully measured his words. "If Your Majesty does decide to kill him, your vassal wouldn't complain."

The doors to the chamber slid open and Leon Powalski entered. The door slid shut behind him.

"Your Majesty called?" Scales saw that Leon was not wearing the vest with the all the drugs, toxins, and pathogens in the syringes in its pockets. Rather, he was wearing his usual purple spandex flight suit.

"There is someone I want you to assassinate."

"The more important the target, the higher the price," Leon said.

"Is one hundred thousand credits enough for murdering my father and making his death appear natural?"

Leon smiled. "If he were head of a multiplanet empire like Andross, I could not do the job for any less than one million. However your father does not even control one planet without you. One hundred thousand would be a fair price if we aren't leaving his experiments unguarded."

"We won't be."

"How do you know that?" Bowser asked.

"When K. Rool is dead, I automatically gain access to his secure sites. You must remember I'm the heir to the throne."

Bowser grimaced when he heard the words "heir to the throne," and Scales noticed.

"Bowser, stop worrying about your children; they are receiving proper Venomian educations. One day one will return to lead Darklands under the Venomian Empire."

Bowser hung his head low, "And the others?"

"It is my goal to get them all back to you, but there must be no doubt that Venom, not the Kremlings but Venom, conquered the Koopas." Scales swiveled his chair so that he looked out the massive window at the evening sky. "The Kremlings are the strongest power on this backwater, but I aspire to rule an empire encompassing the whole multiverse. I need Venom's prestige to rule that empire."


	8. Dynasty

A.N. Kremling in this story mostly follows Romanian pronunciation rules, except for ţ being pronounced like English th instead of Romanian /ts/. The wording of the Kremling used here is inspired by the Romance languages but not meant to be directly translated into any of them. The line in "Sharpclaw" is a direct translation from Icelandic, as accurate as Google Translate can provide.

* * *

Scales had warned him that there would be no getting out of it, and the day had arrived. The next day after his new master had discussed assassination with Powalski, Bowser was summoned to K. Rool's conference room. The King of Darklands knelt on both knees waiting for the seated Kremling King to address him.

"Well, he seems sufficiently subdued," K. Rool said, sipping his mineral water.

Scales stood in front of Bowser as if holding an invisible leash.

"I follow orders, Father. You asked for the Koopa, here he is."

"And it's a gratifying sight, my son." K. Rool turned his gaze to Bowser.

"Well, Your Highness, are you enjoying your position of honor? Because I know I am! I withheld information about Scales being my son, so you'd be completely surprised to learn that I was the architect behind the Venomian invasion."

"So, what's next?" Bowser asked.

"You're probably expecting that I kill you, you and those sweet children of yours." K. Rool said the word "sweet" with such gusto that the opposite was his obvious meaning. "But before you go, there is something that I want you to see. After all, I can't have all my chief rival dead until he's witnessed my final victory. So many people in Darklands have been wishing to the Stars for your safety, and …maybe we should listen?" K. Rool asked, before continuing, "But on the other hand so many in Dinosaur Land and the Mushroom Kingdom, have been wishing for your defeat. It's the Stars who grant wishes and gave us victory, so it could be more perilous to upset them." K. Rool switched from a seemingly concerned tone to wild laughing. "Just goes to show you, never go plaguing a land just to kidnap a spoiled-brat of a princess." Without pausing, K. Rool said, as if part of the same thought, "What an inappropriate way to address a fellow sovereign! Spending too much time with mercenaries and career generals will do that to you, but I can dare to hope that you won't say anything to Peach, will you, Bowser?"

Scales had already let Bowser know how far his own ambitions reached and that they called for the removal of his father, but K. Rool, who didn't know the Koopa King was on board with anything, was speaking to Bowser with tone and inflection that betrayed K. Rool's own designs on the Mushroom Kingdom. To inform someone outside of the loop of such weighty matters usually meant death. Scales still had uses for Bowser alive.

"Maybe we shouldn't silence him so soon, Father. I have plans for the Koopalings."

K. Rool snapped angrily, "There are other lines in the Koopa Royal Family with which to work! What we have right here is vendetta! What Fawful would call 'The delicious pastry of vengeance,' and I want to enjoy every bite." K. Rool's voice became really quite, "Ever since Bowser first invaded the Mushroom Kingdom he has been regarded as the greatest force of evil in this world, never mind the fact that I have attempted genocide through mass starvation and weapons of mass destruction." K. Rool's voice slowly rose in volume until he stood shouting, "It's as if the life one princess matters more than an entire island of Kongs. I'm sick of this world not appreciating my villainy and this mentally challenged turtle and his dysfunctional family stealing my infamy. It is essential that Bowser meet his end at my hands and that he knows that I, King Crăşa Rulenstaen Draculeştior, encompass his doom!"

Bowser began to fear what would happen if Scales didn't get to K. Rool first.

"How long do I have before you get revenge?"

K. Rool smiled and said, "Until Crocodile Isle rises from the sea."

Bowser, who had already forgotten all the details of Scale's plan except K. Rool's death, felt immediate relief. He began to laugh.

"Really, K. Rool, I thought you were actually gonna go through with it."

K. Rool shrugged and said, "Oh, I will. The island is going to rise very soon."

Bowser could tell that he was not joking.

Now K. Rool sat back down and said to Scales, "Son, if you want me to continue to hold Andrew Oikonny for you, you need to hand Bowser over to me."

Bowser tried to throw an "I'm depending on you" look into Scales's eyes, but Scales was looking at K. Rool and thinking his own thoughts.

 _You once said I needed to see past the Lylat System. I've been seeing beyond this universe. It's your petty rivalries that won't let you see past Mushroom Planet._

* * *

Scales's engineers had attached the completed Triforce to one of the batteries for their main laser. K. Rool sat in Scales's chair in the commander's viewing room, while his son stood to the side. They both gazed out to where the beam was targeting.

The caldera of the volcano within the seamount sprang to life. Blue and Pink energy shot up in a column as up rose the volcano, seamount and all. What remained of Castle Roolenstein, the highest point on Crocodile Isle broke through the waves. The castle ruins, indeed, the island, had been submerged under water since Diddy Kong's adventure there. After the fish and plankton had been cleared out, the missing floors rebuilt, and the residual water sucked up, this building would once again be home to the Kremling Royal Family. The mountain beneath the castle began to break the waves. The high elevation community known to non-Kremlings as Gloomy Gulch was receiving sunlight unobscured by the waves. Its high elevation would normally make it too cold for the ectothermic Kremlings, but the geothermal energy from Crocodile Core made it just warm enough to be bearable. Still, many Kremlings had once lived there to be close to the king. Many would live there again. The Industrial theme park Krazy Kremland was at a more median elevation. It would stay closed if the king had his way. The swamp communities around it however would be resettled, as would the lowland ports of Crocodile Cauldron and Krem Quay. Now the Kremlings finally had all four centers of their historic population ready for resettlement. Kaos Kore was under the Roolenstein family's rule. The Kingdom of the Isles included all three traditional power bases. The Kremlings living aboard the mechanical Crocodile Isle and at Kaos Kore could finally move out in numbers that would not hurt the local ecosystems. That would surely change the ways the Koopas and the Kongs regarded their traditional enemies.

 _The Koopas are already under our power and the Kongs will be wiped out soon enough. Then rest of the world will look at the evidence, and see how civilized we really are!_ K. Rool thought as he looked out the window of Scales' command ship. It seemed no contradiction to K. Rool that he wanted to be judged as civilized at the same time he wanted to be viewed as the planet's most evil villain. Civilization was judged by scientific, philosophical, and artistic development. Evil was that necessary quality by which successful monarchs, in K. Rool's view, struck terror into the hearts of their rivals. Evil by itself was destructive, but Scales and K. Rool both genuinely believed that evil coupled with intelligence was the hallmark of good administration. By now the whole island stood above the waves. The ship powered down its Triforce-enhanced beam. K. Rool looked at the island where he had hatched. He had no doubt that Kremlings would recover it as they had the others in the past, but he had his doubts that it would be in his lifetime. He was truly _Rex Insularum_ now, in a way his ancestors had never been. The title _Rej_ "king" was too small for K. Rool. Only _Țar_ "emperor" would fit now. However, before he could assume that title he had to pay a traditional visit to the family crypt at his keep, a visit that required the presence of his intended successor.

"Scales, it's time to visit the crypt!"

* * *

Scales followed his father to a place that they'd both seen when Scales was a child. They were careful to avoid stepping on any of the suffocating marine life that had been trapped on the island. They were headed to the crypt, where every one of Scales' ancestors who'd ruled on Crocodile Isle were buried. They had all dreamed of the time when they could attain the tittle _Țar_ , yet they had all failed in achieving that. Scales was already _Țar_ of Venom, or _Hàr-konungur_ to use his native Island-Sharpclaw. When he learned that his father wanted to visit Crocodile Isle immediately, with him alone, he knew what to do. Powalski had given him a syringe, hidden behind his belt, containing a nerve poison which would cause paralysis of all nerves throughout the body, including those controlling heart and lung function. K. Rool would be dead within seconds. There were several species of sea urchins native to these waters that could do the same. No one would know, especially not with an imperial edict blocking investigation.

The two continued on their path through Gloomy Gulch to the catacombs beneath Roolenstein Keep. Most of the main keep had been blown away during Crocodile Core's eruption, but the catacombs remained. They came to a door which had been locked shut when Crocodile Isle sank. It was the only way in, so the room's contents would be dry. This was Scales' last chance. As his father stepped to open the door, Scales removed the syringe from behind his belt and plunged it into K. Rool's neck. K. Rool's last act before the nerve toxin took effect was to stare at Scales.

"Sorry, _Tata_ , but there can only be one _Țar_. I have a larger empire to run and, quite frankly, you'd get in the way." Scales pushed K. Rool and he fell down. Even with his enhanced strength Scales found it difficult to knock his father over. The idea that K. Rool was fat was based partly on misperception and his chest plate. He naturally had a bit of a stomach, but was also in fact a health nut with a thousand pounds of solid muscle, most of which were tense when the serum paralyzed them. Still, Scales was powerful enough to make the paralyzed K. Rool fall.

K. Rool's crown fell from his head and Sacles knelt to pick it up. He placed it above his hood on his own head. Now came the arduous task of dragging K. Rool's body back to the nearest point where there was a dead marine creature. Scales was certain that his father was dead now. He knelt again to close his eyes, picked up his hands and looked down on the body he was now expending considerable effort to drag. He also thought about the meaning of this day. The Kingdom of the Isles was dead. The Empire of the Stars now absorbed the old Kremling Kingdom. Kremling history had just been altered in a way more profound than the separation of the Imperial family from Kaos Kore, the loss of Krematoa and Kremlantis, or any of the events that had occurred during K. Rool's life. This was as critical a turning point as when the Gracchi Dynasty descendants of Kaos Kore first set up a separate Kingship. Destiny had meant for this to be the beginning of a new era; Roolenstein was dead and Bluescale lived.

Once Scales had brought K. Rool next to the rotting carcass of an inflated Puftup, he activated the communicator on his wrist. The captain of his flag ship answered.

"My Emperor?"

"My father is dead; I'm now the Kremling King. I want you to reroute this message to the Kremling Command, 'Crocodile Isle is to be restored, its rivers and swamps desalinated, its woods replanted, wildlife reintroduced, Roolenstein Keep to be fully repaired, my coronation to take place once the restoration is complete, and,'" he said strongly and more forcefully, "'Bowser to be fully pardoned so long as he agrees to be my vassal.'"

"Very good, sir."

"Don't worry. We won't remain on this planet until my coronation. We have only a few more things to collect here. I'll return to be crowned when it's convenient for us."

"Understood, sir."

Scales looked back to K. Rool's body, to the island all around him, and to his battle cruiser. He then said in Kremling, " _Regeul eşt moart_ ", and in Sharpclaw, " _Lengi lifi Hár-Konungurinn_!"*

*The king is dead, long live the Emperor!


	9. In Transit

After a several weeks of traveling around the Mushroom World in a Venomian spacecraft, the Koopalings were finally headed to Venom itself. That was a relief to Ludwig. It meant that they were definitely political prisoners and therefore safe for the time being. Well, safe from death anyway, as Ludwig was being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. There had only been four quarters available for the eight Koopalings, so they had had to share. They had been paired eldest with youngest and second-eldest with second-youngest and so on—which meant Ludwig had had to share with Junior! And they still had the same ship with the same arrangement to take to Venom.

Ludwig's arch-nemesis had already claimed top bunk when they got there and kept Ludwig up every night by bouncing on it. Needless to say, staying awake until the wee hours of the morning and sleeping until the afternoon had thrown Ludwig's bio-rhythms out of whack since becoming a prisoner. Tonight he decided he was going to at least make use of his sleepless hours.

"Woo-hoo! Yay!" Junior exclaimed in happiness as he bounced. He stopped though when he saw Ludwig turn on the lamp next to the lower bunk. He looked down and said, "Hey, Luddy, I can't sleep with the light on!"

"And I can't sleep with your infernal bouncing! If you want to bounce, then fine, but I'm writing in my journal." Ludwig got out of bed and walked to the cabinet where he had been allowed to store his journal and pen. Bringing these materials back to the bed, he sat upright, legs beneath the covers, pillow behind his shell. He clicked his pen and was about to bring the tip to paper when Junior called down to him making his grip falter and smudging the page.

"Luddy, what are you writing about?"

Ludwig just now realized that Junior had been quiet since he had started to get his writing materials. That earned Junior a polite response.

"I'm going to write about what our lives have been like on the ship."

"Okay. I've been wondering about something." Junior sounded genuinely curious.

Ludwig, enjoying the opportunity to expand his little brother's mind, said, "Okay. What?"

"You know how we're on a spaceship? I was wondering when you go the toilet, where does it come out? There's not like a sewer or anything."

Ludwig palmed himself in the face. "Poop" was Junior's favorite topic.

"There's a holding tank that stores waste matter until it can be unloaded at a waste treatment facility," Ludwig explained unenthusiastically.

"So all the poop from everyone on this ship is still here from since we first boarded?" Junior said with a hint of amazement.

 _So this is who you want to succeed you, Dad?_

Ludwig realized it could very well be. The reign of Bowser III was characterized as one long knee-jerk decision/emotional roller coaster after another. He had a child's self-control. Ludwig returned his attention to the other Bowser.

"No!" he snapped. "We have landed several times on the flight around Mushroom World. More than enough time to unload the ship's sewage treatment to sewage treatment plants."

"Okay, Luddy," Junior yawned and said, "Good night."

Within two seconds Ludwig heard snoring. Had Junior just completely missed that Ludwig was irritated with him? Sometimes it was more his indifference to the problems he caused than those problems themselves that riled Ludwig.

* * *

The same evening in Star Haven, far above the Mushroom Kingdom, the Seven Star Spirits hovered over their posts in the Star Sanctuary. A serious issue that they had debated, tried to ignore, and re-debated, was coming to a head. They had been receiving wishes over the last few weeks that quite frankly, they could not determine were selfish, or worth granting.

The Kremling/SharpClaw hybrid, General Scales, had killed his "father", King K. Rool, and now ruled all of the Kremling Empire in his own right, and made Bowser, King of the Darklands, his vassal by taking his children hostage. Most people on Mushroom Planet thought that Scales would stop there. His main power base was in another solar system, after all.

Many Toads in the Mushroom Kingdom wished that the SharpClaw occupation of the Darklands would never end, and considered the fact that Scales had attacked there instead of the Mushroom Kingdom as proof he had no designs on the Mushroom Kingdom. There were also those who saw Scales as a threat to the entire planet—Princess Peach among them. Further complicating the issue, many Toads couldn't distinguish wishing hardship on Bowser from wishing it on all the inhabitants of the Darklands.

Another dilemma for the Star Spirits was Bowser's sudden change of what he wished for. Gone were all the old wishes of beating Mario and getting Peach to like him. While the Darklands were under SharpClaw and Kremling siege, Bowser had asked to keep his kingdom. When his kingdom fell, he asked that his children remained safe. This was the first unselfish wish in Bowser's entire life. Muskular, was of the opinion to deny the Dragon Koopa.

"He's caused the Mushroom Kingdom enough trouble! Let him have some of his own."

Eldstar and the others wanted to help, but they sensed that the Koopalings had just left the planet's orbit, beyond the Stars' power. The people on Mushroom Planet had exaggerated ideas about the Stars' powers. They were indeed powerful and influential, but they were not omnipotent or omniscient. If they had been, Bowser would never have succeeded in taking the Star Rod a few years ago.

"My fellow Star Spirits," Eldstar began, "The events of the last several weeks have troubled us all greatly. There is nothing we can do about Venom in the Lylat System, but we can grant Princess Peach's wish and work against Scales' activities here."

"Why should we? It's not like he's any worse than Bowser was?" Muskular said.

"Bowser didn't have an entire space navy to attack the Mushroom Kingdom with," Mamar pointed out.

"Point taken."

"Besides, there are thousands of Koopas, Goombas, Thwomps, Chained Chomps, and Bob-ombs, both inside the Darklands, and in other Kingdoms who want Scales gone. We can't just ignore their wishes," Klevar said. "He is running the Darklands like a well-organized army camp. Bowser was cruel to other kingdoms, but in the Darklands he was bound by Koopa tradition. Scales has no such restraint."

Eldstar nodded, "That is true. We do have their wishes to con—

Eldstar never finished that sentence as a great crashing sound interrupted him. The entire Star Sanctuary shook as the laser of a Venomian Fighter blew a gaping hole into the back wall.

While the other Stars were trying to figure out what was happening, Eldstar jumped to the conclusion that, "Scales is after the Star Rod!" It was a jump, albeit a credible one.

The Star Spirits gathered around the Star Rod in the center of the room. They would pour all their energies into creating a shield around it. That was a fatal mistake, as there were many Venomian fighters outside, and they were now reading an energy they had been instructed to look for. More blasts came, but the Stars held firm. The ceiling caved in but, the Star-powered shield kept the Star Spirits and the Star Rod safe. They poured all their mental energy on maintaining the shield. They knew that their sanctuary was being reduced to rubble, but each realized that they could not focus on that. The shield had to be their priority. The first to buckle was the elderly Eldstar.

"I'm weakening!"

"Keep focus!" Mamar said. It was just beginning to dawn on her that the Venomian ships had stopped firing when she too began to weaken. So too, did all of the Star Spirits.

They forced their collective will into keeping the shield up, but within minutes Eldstar stopped contributing and gently glided to the ground face first. It broke the Stars' concentration and for a moment the Stars starred in terror at a Venomian Battlecruiser directly above them.

Then fighters locked on to Muskular and Kalmar, the strongest Star Spirits. Laser blasts put them out of commission. With only four Stars left the shield was weakening.

"We have to leave, lead them away from Star Haven," Klevar said.

"We can't leave the others!" Misstar said.

"As long as we're here they're in danger!"

"We have bigger issues!" Mamar demanded.

"Bowser didn't just leave us alone when he got the Star Rod. He trapped us in cards, do you think Scales will see us as any less of a threat?!" Skolar shoved his opinion in Klevar's face.

Mamar was the only one who noticed what was really going on. The more concentration that went into their argument, the weaker the shield was getting.

"Everyone listen to me!" She shouted just in time for a Venomian laser to take down her three companions.

Then suddenly all the Venomians stopped. One fighter, piloted by an orange-scaled Sharpclaw, landed. He jumped from the cockpit, pulled out a blaster and Mamar was out cold.

* * *

Scales sat in the rotating chair of his observation room in solitude. His attacks had damaged virtually every building in Star Haven, and he had seen that the Sharp Claw soldier he had handpicked for the task took the Star Rod. His fighter was docking in Scales' battle cruiser just now. It was probably a fifteen minute walk from the docking bay to the observation room, but Scales had given the warrior orders to bring the object directly back to him as soon as possible. He could disregard orders of superiors if anyone got in his way.

With the Star Rod in his possession, Scales held the glue that bound all the other "items" he was collecting together, "items" that would make him invincible. Bowser had tried to use the Star Rod to become invincible before but had failed miserably. Scales, however, had studied the object in more detail. The Star Rod could grant its wielder all their wishes (provided they did not involve leaving its current planet's orbit), but simply wishing for invincibility was not enough. The Star Rod could be countered by the combined strength of the Seven Star Spirits. No, Scales's wish would center on transferring energy from powerful sources into his own body. His thoughts were already returning to the completed Triforce attached to the main laser. It had raised Crocodile Isle from the sea, and it held the power to open the portal wide enough for Scales to send his armies into other dimensions on a large scale. Concerning the damage it could do in Lylat, Scales could level cities with the force of a four megaton nuclear missile, but, most importantly, with none of the fallout.

Scales was musing on his plans when the warrior with the Star Rod arrived. Dropping to one knee and bowing his head, he said, "Hàr-konungur! I have it!" The Star Rod lay horizontally across his upturned palms.

Scales spun his chair around to face the minion, got up and slowly approached.

"And it is a beautiful thing you have, Erikr," Scales said, slowly picking the object up from his minion. Erikr felt gladdened whenever his Chieftain had called him by name.

The SharpClaw had a three-tiered caste system. The lowest, _þralls_ , could be bought or sold and had no rights. The middle caste, to which Erikr belonged, _karls_ , could not be bought or sold, but had no real political power. The highest caste, to which Ivar Krasjason belonged, the _jarls_ , held all political power. While virtually all SharpClaw in an army were _karls_ , the army's leaders would always be _jarls_. Chieftains would always be _jarls_. Ivar Krasjason was known to rule the SharpClaw by intimidation, and had real loyalty only with those attached his mother's clan, the House of Bluescale, named after a famous pirate who had established a short-lived kingdom in the Cape Claw region in southern Sauria. Sharpclaw attached to one house were always resentful of rule by an outsider. As a Bluescale insider, Erikr, on rare occasion got to see the little bit of a soft side his Chieftain actually possessed. The terror tactics that Ivar Krasjason used on other houses were necessary, but he also knew the Chieftain well enough to know that he already possessed something of a sadistic streak on his own: something his Kremling father had nurtured. He saw that streak surface in the Chieftain's eyes as he held the Star Rod. The Sharpclaw legend of the _Daroganson_ or "Son of Destiny" foretold a leader who would be a great conqueror, who would bow to no Sharpclaw and to whom all Sharpclaw would bow. He would rule them as one nation and lead them to conquer Sauria. Surely Ivar wouldn't need to be so brutal once his mission here was complete and he ruled all of Lylat. He wouldn't _have to_ , but that look in his eyes told just how eagerly he'd look for an excuse.


	10. Farewell and Adieu

As far as I know the English sea shanty "Spanish Ladies" is public domain.

Ludwig had surprisingly had a goodnight's sleep last night. Junior had stopped bouncing and Ludwig had no external disturbances. Getting his mind to be still was a bit harder, as this was the first time he had really had time to reflect on the fall of Darklands to the Kremlings. According to what Ludwig had gathered, Scales was K. Rool's hybrid son, and K. Rool had brought Venom to the Mushroom World. What's more everyone had mentioned Scales's replacing K. Rool as the Kremling leader.

Venomian might be Scales's Lylat identity, but as far as Ludwig was concerned when he was on Mushroom World he was a Kremling. Certainly everyone took for granted that Scales had murdered his father to take his kingdom. Such behavior was common in the history of Kremling rulers, particularly the Draculeşti branch of the House of Rulenstaen. It had been nearly five hundred years since a Koopa monarch had been killed by relatives. As much as he hated Junior, and he did, Ludwig didn't want any physical harm to befall his little brother. The only time he considered killing a relative to be okay was to prevent worse from happening. Really, even killing minions was only acceptable if they'd committed treason. They could be insulted, pushed, around, but they couldn't be killed. Usually, if they defected back, they could even get pardoned of treason and go back to work with full rank restored.

Ludwig was suspicious of his new suzerain to say the least, and did not know if Junior' usual behavior would help or hurt him with their captors.

Ludwig awoke in the morning—well, he thought it was morning, this being a spaceship after all—to see a monstrous rhinoceros glowering over him.

"Good morning, Prince Koopa," he moved his eyes up diagonally toward the still sleeping Junior, and then centered them on Ludwig.

"Meet with all your siblings in the captain's briefing room. We're in Venomian orbit."

The rhino exited the room. The future Ludwig had been pondering before bed had arrived. The blue-haired Koopaling sighed, freed himself from the covers and stood by the ladder to the first bunk.

"Junior! Time to wake up! We're at our new home!"

Bowser Jr. just rolled over and grunted.

"Wake up!" Ludwig screamed sounding like their father yelling at a minion. "Our lives could very well depend on it, you little moron!"

The volume of Ludwig's voice had the desired effect.

"Hunh?" Junior said groggily as he rubbed sleep out of his eyes.

When Junior was finally looking at Ludwig, the latter said to him, "Get your butt down here now, the captain wants to see us."

Suddenly Junior looked scared.

"Are we in trouble?"

"No, we're at Venom."

Junior looked confused for a minute.

"Why does the captain want to see us?"

Ludwig stared at the floor and said from deep in his throat, "Because we're hostages, not tourists. There are no doubt going to be very specific rules about what we can and can't do."

Junior sat still staring at some nonexistent point on the wall.

"Luddy, am I still a prince?"

Ludwig answered honestly, "Not in the way we were used to."

* * *

All eight Koopalings crowded into the captain's ready room. The snow leopard captain seemed amused by Junior's insistence that he got to sit on the sofa that only had room for three of them. Naturally, Roy the bully got one spot as did Wendy who could play the traditional chivalry card or the women's lib card with equal ease depending on which one suited her needs at the moment. Iggy, Lemmy, Morton, Larry and Ludwig all stood. Ludwig had a pleasant smile on his face.

The captain cocked an eyebrow at Ludwig.

"You appear to be the most intelligent."

"That's true, sir." Ludwig did not see any virtue in false humility.

The other Koopalings all started talking at once.

"Yeah, a smart $$," Roy said.

"I actually have a higher IQ," Iggy added.

"I'm the most, how do you say, 'adaptable'," Wendy said.

Finally Junior yelled at the top of his lungs, "Everybody shut up! I'm papa's favorite!"

The captain eyed Junior over again.

"You're also the youngest. Are you sure you know what is going on?"

"Sure do. Luddy explained. We're hostages to make Papa behave. That means if Papa messes up you start killing us. But we can misbehave on our own as much as we want to."

Ludwig palmed himself in the face.

"Sir, he misunderstood me. I know we are supposed to behave, and I am ready to do what is expected of us as soon as I learn what that is."

The captain rubbed his chin. "You might actually be the smartest after all," he said to Ludwig before addressing all the Koopalings, "You will all be given quarters in the Imperial Palace. You will be given courses in mathematics and the sciences to catch you up to the average Lylat child of your age. You will each attend the Imperial Academy when you are old enough. Emperor Scales has no desire to kill you when you would be more useful as governors in his empire."

Ludwig felt as though the floor he was standing on had cracked. This exile and "imprisonment" might just be exactly what he needed. His father and the Darklands Council were irrelevant now. Proving himself to Scales was what mattered. True, he'd only be a client-king, but that was his father's fault, and if Scales could topple Andross, Ludwig could eventually topple Scales. He looked back at Bowser Junior.

 _Your days as heir are numbered._

"We will be beginning our descent into Venom's atmosphere shortly. An armed team will be ready to escort your majesties to the palace."

This choice of words did not surprise Ludwig, but Junior took it too far.

"You mean we're princes and a princess again?"

The captain narrowed his eyes, "Depending on how well you behave."

It was when the captain made that comment that Ludwig felt a twinge of fear go up his spine. He really did hate his youngest brother, but even Ludwig didn't want to see him get himself killed.

* * *

The fact that there was a place called Old Rougeport underneath the modern city of the same name was amazing. The buildings here were a thousand years old at the youngest, with many much older. Yet here they were hundreds of meters beneath the ground in nearly pristine condition. There were even fountains that still worked.

More amazing than their surroundings though, Panther thought, was how they had ended up there.

"How did you do that?" Panther asked Scales.

The emperor had just told Star Wolf to accompany him to Old Rougeport, snapped his claws and suddenly the four of them were there.

Wolf didn't bother to ask. He knew enough about the emperor's new weapon.

"My trusty Star Rod," Scales faced Panther and wagged said object.

"Which brings me to my question," Wolf said. "If this object can grant any wish you have, why do you need Star Wolf down here?"

Scales held the Star Rod before, pointing it in different directions. When he pointed in the correct condition it glowed.

"I don't need you in the conventional sense, but your presence is still appropriate," Scales paused and then added, "And I'm still paying you so, don't complain!"

Wolf knew that Scales was going to be their most frequent if not exclusive employer from now so it payed to stay on his good side. Wolf nodded.

Their journey through the well-preserved "ruins" continued until they reached a large white building with a red door which caused the Star Rod to glow in rapid short bursts.

"We're here," Scales said.

Leon ventured, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold, what exactly are you looking for?"

Scales put the Star Rod in his belt and turned to face Star Wolf.

"How many of you are familiar with the ancient Krazoan civilization?"

Scales was looking directly at Wolf.

"Weren't they spirit-beings that Andross used to revive himself?"

Inwardly, Scales scowled as he himself had been a pawn of Andross's in that plan, a shame he wanted to permanently rid himself of—however he hid his feelings from O'Donnell, chuckled and said, "Not quite. Andross did use them to revive himself, but they weren't spirits. Millennia ago they were as physical as you or I. They eventually developed enough mental powers to be a threat to all life on Sauria. They moved on to a different plane of existence but a handful elected to stay behind on Sauria as guardians, beings of pure energy."

Panther seemed eager for Scales to get to the point, Wolf was relatively fascinated and knew the point was coming, while Leon had genuine academic interest.

"Most interpreted their new mandate to protect and guide the tribes of Sauria, but one interpreted the mandate as one to rule. Her name was 'Qwes Avozhen,' 'to be banished' in Krazoan. The history of Mushroom Planet reveals that an entity with the same name tried to engulf this world in darkness a thousand years ago. She was more commonly known as the Shadow Queen."

Now Wolf realized what exactly they were after, and it scared him.

"Sir, are you sure this is wise?"

Scales glared at O'Donnell. "Of course it is! She was severely weakened by Mario, and I have already used the Star Rod to incorporate the energies of the Triforce into my own body, making me strong enough to endure while the Star Rod traps her and drains her power."

Wolf felt his hair stand on end and Scales noticed.

"Tell me O'Donnell, would Andross do any differently?"

"No, sir." An honest answer. Toward the end of his reign, Andross had lost touch with basic reality, and Scales's similar descent into megalomania was scary to watch.

"You think I'm crazy like the old ape, don't you?"

Wolf started to answer, but Scales held up his claw.

"Save your judgments until this is over," Scales removed the Star Rod and pointed it at the door, "Remember, I'm paying you to watch this!"

Scales opened the door and the four of them entered the palace. Following the red carpet, they eventually came down a series of stairs into a room filled with candles and carpeted steps a grey coffin.

Leon's scales turned a nervous pale as he asked, "Are you sure the Triforce is enough to handle her, Your Majesty?"

"Probably," Scales said. His answer inspired no confidence in Star Wolf. He didn't care. If the Triforce was insufficient, he had the Star Rod. His ability to destroy her was irrelevant anyway. He was there to steal, not to kill.

Scales extended the Star Rod, and after two apparent thunder flashes the candles began to snuff themselves out one by one. The room was obviously becoming dark, but something else happened: the candles relight themselves with black flames.

"Krazoa mental powers can bend the laws of physics, but being a natural being, you can't truly break them, can you, Qwes Avozhen?"

The lid slid backward and a small black cloud arose from inside the coffin.

"It has been centuries since anyone called me by that name, even longer since one said the name of my species," a feminine voice emanated from the black cloud.

The fascinated Star Wolf team watched as the Shadow Queen prepared to confront Scales.

"Your tone is insolent. Do you know that I can pull your body apart?"

Scales smirked.

"You could if you had enough power, but it has only been a few years since the red-clad plumber defeated you. Last time it took you a thousand years to restore yourself."

"You insolent SharpClaw! You dare to infer my weakness?" Ire was thick in her voice.

"I do more than infer, Krazoa. I challenge you!"

He is crazy, Wolf thought, immediately concerned for his team's safety.

"Then you shall die!"

Another black cloud, a bit larger, appeared. It almost solidified into the shape of a hand with long fingernails, but never became more solid than a purple mass with the ability to squeeze. As it touched Scales, something threw it backward. Star Wolf was stunned.

The hand covered the central shadow for a moment, before the queen demanded, "How can this be?"

"Using the Star Rod, I have incorporated the Triforce of Hyrule into my own body. I'll repeat that procedure here as I strip you of Krazoa powers and bind your consciousness to your central shadow."

Wolf swallowed. They had been right to be afraid, but they had been afraid of the wrong person.

A neon purple beam shot out of the Star Rod and into the black cloud from whence the queen's voice came. Then the beam began sucking energy out of her, and a second beam shout out of the Star Rod and into Scale's chest, bringing the energy with it.

"SharpClaw, stop! I'll be your servant. I'll be your servant," the queen repeated, her voice becoming weaker with each plea. The purple hand disappeared. After a while the energy transfer stopped. Scales' eyes grew purple and a purple haze clung to his body's outline. The queen's cloud shrank.

"Are you still there, My Queen?" Scales asked, using sarcasm for her title.

"Yes," the voice from the tiny circle of darkness that remained was extremely weak. "Please, let me go."

The purple haze finally subsided into Scales's body and his eyes resumed their natural red.

"I think not."

He raised his hand and a blue crackle of energy shot from his claw tip and struck the queen.

"Now you're immobile. Rot here forever!" Scales laughed and teleported himself and Star Wolf back to their headquarters on Krematoa.

They were in K. Rool's old conference room. Scales was seated in K. Rool's old chair.

Wolf was still trying to piece together whether what really happened was real or not when Scales interrupted his thoughts.

"You have just seen me acquire greater power than Andross. I'm now the most powerful ruler in the multiverse's history. We return to Lylat tomorrow and our conquest of Corneria begins."

"Understood, sir," Wolf said.

He motioned for Leon and Panther to leave the room with him.

Scales took a moment to reflect over the last several months. Andrew Oikonny was his prisoner, his father dead, Crocodile Isle restored, and he now had all the necessary ingredients. It was time to return home. Scales started singing an old Kremling sea shanty that fit the mood.

" _Farewell and adieu to you Koopa ladies,_

 _Farwell and adieu, to you maids of Darklands,_

 _For we have received orders_

 _To sail to Old Krem Quay,_

 _But we hope in a short time to see you again."_


	11. Home is Where the Heart Is

A.N. I'm kinda basing the Sharpclaw prophecies about the "Daroganson" on the USA TV movie _Atilla_.

While it was nice to finally be ensconced in Andross's palace as his own, Scales hated the necessary burden that came with it: discussing rational strategy with Andross's former generals. Edgethorpe, a pig beside whom Pigma Dengar would have looked thin were he still alive, was the first to break the silence at the staff meeting.

"Welcome home, Emperor. I trust you have all the items that your father said would help us conquer Corneria?" There was something in the pig's tone that suggested he thought himself fit to be Emperor and that Scales's activities on Mushroom Planet were a waste of time.

"I mean your siege of—what was that place called—lasted three months. It's time to take the fight to Corneria, not do the biding of some two-bit backwater—"

Edgethorpe had gone too far. Scales agreed that his father had been a backwater power, but he dared to dream of something greater. No one else was allowed to insult King K. Rool like that. Scales raised his natural hand and a shadowy cloud seemed to encircle it. At the same time, Edgethorpe felt a tightness in his throat and couldn't take deep enough breaths to fill his lungs.

Scales stared at the center of the table to indicate that he was addressing all generals.

"My time on that 'backwater' gave me the abilities you see here." He turned to Edgethorpe, "Abilities that could let you live or die, General Edgethorpe, depending on how genuine I believe your apology to be." Scales drew his three fingers closer together to the point that the pig was choking.

"M-majesty, forgive—" Scales released his hold and Edgethorpe gulped two lungfuls of oxygen.

"I don't ask that you love my Sharpclaw or Kremling heritage, only that you respect and fear it, for it is precisely that heritage that will win us the Lyalat System." Even as Scales said the words "Lylat System" they sounded hollow to him. He wanted to say "multiverse" but these generals' interests were too provincial. That was what his father's goal had been, but K. Rool had gotten too caught up in worthless rivalries to see it through.

"I want to assure everyone that our plans for Corneria have not been put on hold. As of this very moment I'm working on a way to combine the powers I've acquired on Mushroom Planet with Andross's technology. My Scientists estimate it will take a year for the procedures to be completed."

Of course Scales was thinking specifically about how long it would take to infect test subjects he'd briefly infuse with his own powers with Andross's nanites to test their effects on his own health. He doubted that there would be any physical harm, but he didn't want to go crazy the way the ape had. Then he'd have the power of the mystical powers Triforce, the Star Rod, and the Shadow in addition to Andross's technologically enhanced telepathy.

His generals all groaned when he said "a year."

Scales decided that now would be a good time to let his true feelings show.

"Honestly, a year is too long for you?" He said, exasperated. "It took Andross fifteen years, and its been ten years since he lost."

Egdethorpe stood up again.

"You compare yourself to Andross?!"

Scales stood and turned the shadow choke technique he'd stolen from the Shadow Queen on Edgethorpe once more.

He had lost his cool but he didn't care this time. He had a statement to make.

Scales spoke simultaneously as Edgethorpe doubled over.

"Andross FAILED!" Scales shouted. "I'm trying to bring us victory!" He released Edgethorpe. There would come a time for killing minions without fear of losing loyalty, but that wasn't today.

"Victory," Scales pleaded. "Isn't that what you want?"

"Sir," the ursine General Danziger said, "If we spend a year doing nothing, the Cornerians will get suspicious."

Scales laughed. "Oh, you misunderstand. I never said we'd be doing nothing. We have alliances to forge, territory to take back, and old bases to reopen. Only Corneria itself need wait." Scales noticed the generals nod, even Edgethorpe. However, Scales new how to get payback.

"General Edgethorpe, I want you to be military attaché to my forces on Mushroom Planet. You will be working closely with a Kremling general named Klump."

* * *

Fools! They are all narrow minded fools! Scales paced back and forth through Andross's throne alone when the thought hit him: he still regarded this as Andross's palace, not his own. What's more Venom itself didn't feel like home. He had been engineered about eighteen years before Andross was banished from Corneria. For the first two years of his life which he had no conscious memory of, he had been raised by his mother, Ragnhild, on Sauria. When he turned three he met his creator, Andross, and his father, King K. Rool, for the first time. From then on, he spent increasingly more time on Crocodile Isle and less time among the SharpClaw, though he still spent months at a time among his mother's people on Sauria. She infused him with the hope that he might actually be the Daroganson, the Son of Destiny.

He'd passed between his father and mother's guardianship and Andross's tutorship, but that had always been for short three week periods while Andross was checking his experiments on Sauria. He spent so much of his life off of Venom, why had he wanted to return so badly?

Because it was never about Venom. It was about being seen as Andross's successor.

But those generals…they made him feel like an outsider…and they were right. Miranda Bowman, Andross's law-abiding, still-sane, Cornerian daughter, was his rightful heir. He was K. Rool's project, the usurpation of the Venomian throne by his own heir. Scales had killed his father to be his own master, but other Kremling princes had done the same. It was still that faction he represented.

Venom was the heart of Scales' empire and would remain so until he conquered Corneria and Fox McCloud, but then when he moved on to the rest of the multiverse, he would move his capital, most likely to Mushroom Planet. He wanted a loyal lieutenant who understood where he was coming from. As fate would have it, he recently acquired any one out of a possible eight.

Scales stopped pacing, smiled, and cackled to himself.

He walked to the blue computer terminal on the throne room's gold left wall. Entering the key word, "Koopalings" brought him all the data he wanted. Within two hours of reading, he had chosen his future second-in-command.

* * *

Ludwig had felt a chill run down his spine when he out of his sister and all his brothers had been summoned to Scales's throne room. On one hand it made since. Ludwig was the nearest to adulthood. It was natural that Scales should talk to him. On the other hand...

Scales would kill the Koopalings if Bowser gave him reason and as the disinherited, Ludwig was probably first to go.

Ludwig kept his eyes down on the red carpet barley noticing the rhinoceros guard on his left or the silverback gorilla on his right until they pushed him to his knees. Then he knew he was close enough to Scales's throne to bury his face in the ground.

Ludwig tried to harness his runaway mind when the emperor spoke.

"Bowser's eldest son, shunted aside in favor of a little brat for reasons that elude me." Ludwig could tell from Scales's inflections that a change in audience was coming.

"Guards, leave us."

Another change.

"I'd prefer you give me the respect to look me in the eye, young Koopa."

Ludwig looked up and saw his captor for the first time. He couldn't tell Scales's towering height from his sitting position, but he saw a smile on the allosaur/crocodile hybrid's face that instantly said "I'm not a sadist."

"Don't worry, young Koopa. If I wanted to strike at Bowser, I'd do it where it hurts. He's clearly abandoned you."

"Before I even got here," Ludwig concurred.

"I don't understand it. I've reviewed the statistics on you and the other Koopalings, but you have the second highest intelligence quotient, the highest rationality quotient, and the hardest work ethic. If I were Bowser, I'd want you as my heir."

That made Ludwig feel good, but it also raised his suspiscions.

"I can't be your heir, so what do you want from me?"

Scales's smile faded, revealing a dinocroc ready to do serious business.

"I see great potential in you, Ludwig, and I hate to waste great potential. I can make you the next Koopa King—provided you support my empire—and I'd also like a fellow outsider to talk to."

That caught Ludwig by surprise and the Koopaling knitted his eyebrows.

"But this is your homeworld," Ludwig said confused.

"Venom was never my homeworld. I was hatched on Sauria, and spent many of my formative years on Mushroom Planet on Crocodile Isle. All of Andross's former people, except those who served under me, regard me as a primitive who became emperor solely because I had the best plan at the right time."

Ludwig was a bit shocked. So Scales was more Kremling than Venomese after all.

"We are both, in our own ways exiled from home. Our fathers were rivals, but I offer you the choice to be something else to me, Ludwing Von Koopa."

Ludwig was still trying to process all this. "And what exactly is that?"

"Don't make this decision lightly, but give serious thought to becoming my apprentice."

* * *

Work was proceeding apace on restoring Bowser's castle. The Koopa King was home again. He was still allowed to keep the title "king" and had administrative powers over Darklands, as a fief of Venom of course. Bowser glanced at the grandfather clock in the hall. No, he wasn't quite home after all. It was seven p.m. during the summer. Ludwig should be annoying the castle with one of his stupid symphonies. Bowser sighed. He missed those stupid symphonies. He missed Ludwig. He missed all his children, but he and Ludwig hadn't parted on good terms. And the lack of a symphony had brought his eldest to the forefront of his mind.

He trudged his way to Ludwig's room with heavy footfalls, feeling like his shell was a hundred times heavier than usual. Reaching Ludwig's room he opened the door, walked over to the piano, sat on the bench and started touching claws to random keys. What he produced couldn't exactly be called music. One "thorb" sound of a certain pitch collided into another of a different pitch with absolutely no pattern. Bowser was hesitant to play at first, so there were long pauses between the sounds, but as he played he became more and more biter over his relationship with his first-hatched, and his fingers plodded away with intensity. By now the noise was heard everywhere on that story of the castle.

"Majesty?"

Bowser couldn't hear Kamek when the Magikoopa entered.

Bowser kept pounding on the key board until Kamek tapped his shell.

"Hunh?" Bowser said without turning.

"Why does Your Evilness want to deafen all of us?"

It took Bowser a moment to realize what Kamek was talking about.

"Oh.." he pulled his hands away from the keys. "Sorry."

Kamek looked around.

"Rotteness, why are you playing Prince Ludwig's piano?"

It took the question a moment to register with Bowser.

"It was seven p.m. School's out. This is when Ludwig plays," Bowser said slowly.

"I thought you hated his music, Sire?"

"Yeah, but I miss it. This just isn't home without the Koopalings."

"They are being cared for by the Emperor. They are probably better off.."

Bowser growled at those words.

" _I'm_ their father! They're better off with me! Junior especially. Ludwig's almost an adult, but the others…"

"Are still being treated like the royalty they are."

"You don't know that!" Bowser bellowed. "Scales doesn't have to kill them to mistreat them!"

Bowser was having one of his irrational rages. Kamek just opted to stay silent until Bowser said something he could refute.

"He might be remolding them, making them loyal to him. He could be abusing the ones that don't fall in line, and I'd never even know!"

"He did promise to send you regular video feeds, Your Anxiousness."

"With his technology he could heal any small bruises in time for the video!" Then a memory from that conversation with Scales returned to Bowser.

"Stars above! Scales openly told me he wanted them to serve under his administration!"

"He'll have to remold them to get their loyalty."

Bowser sighed. His youngest were certainly in danger. But there was one they could depend on to help keep Scales from breaking them. Bowser knew because he'd never broken him himself.

 _At least they have Ludwig._


	12. Specter of the Past

A year had passed since Ludwig officially became Scales' "apprentice." Ludwig was still unsure of what exactly that entailed, but in the year he had been versed in the physics of super light speed travel to know as much as a Lylat native and was going to attend Venom's Imperial Academy. He regularly met with Scales, and the two discussed interdimensional politics over coffee. He had come to share Scales' –whom he referred to as "Maestro"—belief that one power should govern the multiverse. Right now Maestro was the best candidate for the job. Ludwig freely admitted this. However, he was learning so that he could one day rule for himself.

All this being said, it came as a surprise when Maestro asked for Ludwig's presence in the deepest level of the compound over the comm in Ludwig's room.

He stood for a retina scan to get into Andross's old workshop, the lizard guards then having to apologize to someone who did in fact outrank them. Only individuals Maestro trusted could clear the retina scan.

Ludwig followed door after door into increasingly dimly lit rooms further and further underground with green fluorescent lights.

When Ludwig reached the lowest level his eyes immediately became glued to a lighted tube twelve feet away from him. A mass of what appeared to be coral was inside.

Flickering yellow lights and bright blue digital graphs only added to the eerie ambiance.

"The structure you see is made up of billions of Andross's nanites. Once in the bloodstream, they can repair any damaged organ."

The voice seemed to come from nowhere, until Ludwig looked to his right to see Maestro, who'd been there all along.

"And as a bonus, they grant me many of the abilities that Andross once had."

Ludwig pondered at his Maestro's meaning. Andross's experiments. They had given him some level of telekinetic abilities. Was that what Maestro was after?

"Impressive. Is this the weapon with which we'll take the multiverse?"

Scales chuckled.

"No, my young apprentice, I'm afraid that even Andross's abilities aren't enough for that. But we have some more pieces to go over before our ultimate weapon is ready."

Ludwig now turned his full attention to Scales.

"You are aware that my father sent Star Wolf to retrieve the Triforce from Hyrule, correct?"

"That's how he was able to raise Crocodile Isle above the waves," Ludwig responded expecting to see Scales pull the Triforce out of his tunic. Scales read the look in Ludwig's eyes and chuckled. He let Ludwig hold on to that expectation until it became obvious to the Koopaling that that wasn't going to happen.

"Well, where is it?" Ludwig asked after two minutes of waiting.

"As a physical object, the Triforce no longer exists," Scales said dispassionately. Then Scales licked his teeth, and said as one satisfied with a meal, "I used the Star Rod to absorb its energy into my body."

Ludwig's eyes bulged. With the Triforce's energy inside him, Scales had an incredible power source of his own. What's more he had the Star Rod with him.

"When did you get the Star Rod, Maestro?"

"While you and your siblings were in transit to Venom. It came in handy in subduing a certain Krazoa known in Mushroom World as the Shadow Queen. Her powers course through my veins"—Scales stopped mid-sentence to note Ludwig's mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"You are probably worried that I'm too big a threat to you."

Ludwig froze, terrified to admit the truth and reveal his own aspirations to power, but also knowing his Maestro could shred through a lie in seconds.

"I'm afraid, but is that not what you want, Maestro?" Ludwig bowed on one knee.

Scales smiled, took hold of Ludwig's chin and brought their eyes to meet. "Of course it is, my young apprentice. Don't worry though, I'll delegate some power to you after my final metamorphosis."

Metamorphosis?

Scales let go of Ludwig and looked at "coral" in the tube.

"You see, the nanites aren't my ultimate weapon. I'm my own weapon, or rather, will be."

A green feathered parrot with an orange crest in a lab coat approached Scales.

"Majesty, the mindwipe was complete. The nanites have completely eradicated any trace of Andross's brainwaves."

"Excellent. It wouldn't do to be sharing a mind with a second personality."

Scales held up the Star Rod.

"This rod only has power on whatever planet it's currently on. Not the most useful item, but still not something to waste." Scales drew the Star Rod back and began to inhale. The Star Rod turned into smoke and entered Scales's nostrils.

Ludwig stared, knowing what was coming next.

"Let the Age of Conquest begin!" Scales shouted as his entire body became black smoke and entered the tube.

For a while, Ludwig lost track of time while lightning seemingly flashed and Scales's body appeared in place of the nanites in the tube, gradually morphing into a more metallic form, then lightning would strike again. Now Scales's new body would gradually morph into his old. The lightening repeated at faster intervals. Eventualy the tube broke, and a recognizable but hoodless Scales rolled onto the floor in a pool of fluids.

"Maestro?" Ludwig asked, truly wondering if Scales had succeeded.

The creature jerked its head up and looked at Ludwig.

As if from nowhere, metallic headgear emerged from the back of the creature's head. It was shaped almost like a bird's crest, but much shorter, closer to the head, ending in a triangular point between the eyes. The eyes were Scales's usual yellow, but it closed its right eye, and the iris was red-orange against a black lifeless sclera upon reopening.

"Maestro?" Ludwig asked.

"Almost," Scales's voice responded.

The creature stood upright and cyber-armor sprang up from subcutaneous nanites in its right arm. They formed rows of ring shaped plates that encompassed the entire right arm down to the three fingers.

A look of rationality came to the creature's face and Ludwig knew that Scales had succeeded.

His Maestro gazed at his new right hand.

"Aah! Having two hands will take a little getting used to, but at least I'm still a cyborg." Then he looked to Ludwig.

"I believe I have some powers to delegate to you, my young apprentice."

* * *

Bowser had spent the entire day watching his children's video feeds, while sitting, munching on drumbsticks. He hadn't been getting much exercise in the past year and gained thirty pounds of solid fat. It wasn't that Bowser didn't want to exercise, he just didn't have the energy too. He'd been too depressed.

Most of his children had been fairly indifferent to their Venomian exile. It had actually done Iggy and Junior good. Iggy was on a more stable medication and Junior had learned self-sufficiency.

Junior's videos had started out being the hardest to watch. He struggled, not having anyone to help him with his homework, not being woken up by someone else in the morning, having to eat foods he didn't like, and things like that. But Junior had grown stronger. He'd learned to study for himself, set his own alarm clock, and eat what was put before him. He'd even earned praise from his captor and older brother over his progress, but Bowser was delighted that even in Junior's latest video, he'd still called Scales, "the wise-but-scary lizard king." Junior had learned to speak between the lines. He'd known how to flatter Scales while at the same time show he distrusted him. Bowser was proud of how Junior was turning out.

Ludwig on the other hand was a complete disappointment and the main reason for Bowser's depression. Had he been at home, a nice fire-breath scalding should have fixed things, but he was away on Venom. Bowser had expected his eldest to be the hardest to mold, but instead he'd been the easiest! The fool had made the critical mistake of telling Bowser that Scales's master plan involved the conquest of the entire multiverse. Now Bowser knew what his enemy was after, know he could stop him, now…he could do nothing. One move and Scales would start killing the Koopalings—hence his depression.

To make matters worse Ludwig told Bowser that he had become Scales's apprentice. The little traitor had switched sides. He wanted Scales to succeed. He'd sacrifice Darklands's independence to be second-in-command to K. Rool's son! How could Ludwig do a thing like this!?

Bowser would strip Ludwig of his status of first-hatched when Scales next allowed the Koopalings to visit Bowser. But there was the rub. Scales—not Bowser, not the council—but Scales would choose the next leader of Darklands. Bowser's rage boiled over.

He let his fiery breath shoot towards the feeling and let it dissipate when he realized how futile it was. Scales would never let the Koopalings all visit at once. When he next allowed Ludwig to visit it would be with the clear intent of replacing Bowser.

Luddy…

Would Ludwig actually do it? Bowser thought back to the day Luddy first hatched and he became a father for the first time. Clawdia had been there then. They were a full family. Both parents had loved their little bundle. What could have gone so wrong? Tears started streaming from Bowser's eyes. He'd never wanted to loose Luddy even when his little brothers and sister hatched. He'd never wanted to loose Clawdia, either. But she got brain cancer around the same time she was carrying Junior's egg. Bowser tried to get a new mother for his children in the Mushroom Kingdom's Princess Peach, but Mario always ruined that.

Bowser stopped crying long enough to suck the snot back in his sinuses and grab another drumbstick.

 _Stupid plumber. I hope Scales has me kill you._

* * *

Scales's new body suited him perfectly. With all the powers he now possessed, he'd order the conquest of Corneria in the morning and transport his fleet there immediately. He'd finely be rid of Fox McCloud. Then he would have the Lylat System safely under control. He could return to Mushroom Planet for his true coronation on Crocodile Isle. Then he'd kill Cranky Kong. His father would be so proud of him if only he were around to see it. It was with these happy thoughts that Scales went to bed that night. He had done some redecorating of the imperial bedroom. Andross's bed still had its white pillows, blue spread, silver sheet, and imperial purple blanket. However, Scales had added a red canopy whose curtains cut be pulled shut around the bed. He did not know if what happened next was a dream or a frightful reality.

" _Ivar…Ivar…_ "

Scales was tossing and turning beneath the sheets as a hollow spectral voice called out to him, faintly at first, but with increasing volume—hollow and spectral but all too familiar.

" _Ivar, wake up_!"

Scales sat straight up, freezing. Standing at the foot of his bed was the transparent figure of King K. Rool.

This was impossible!

"How are you here!?" Scales demanded.

" _I'm not here_ ," K. Rool gestured to the area around him. He then pointed a finger to Scales head. " _I'm in here. Andross lost all his memories thanks to your technicians, but my mind was still in those nanites and I transferred some of my life essence to the Triforce as well. Then you put me back together again_."

Scales felt the chill grow more intense.

"So, you want my newly perfected body!"

" _Don't mask fear with anger, Ivar. It doesn't become you. Besides I can no longer exist in one piece without your subconscious mind housing me,_ " K. Rool said.

"So what do you want? Tell me how to run my empire from beyond the grave?"

K. Rool's specter looked down at the floor and chuckled.

" _Ivar, I think you know me better than that. I'm quite pleased to see how you've handled our empire. Turning the eldest Koopaling against Bowser was a stroke of genius._ "

"You are being uncharacteristically generous, which means an order is coming next."

" _How well you understand me, my boy. You know you didn't completely turn him from Bowser on your own._ _The Koopa King started his son on that journey all on his own. He is allied to you because you hold the power, but he is ultimately loyal to himself._ "

Scales snorted, lay back down and pulled the cover up to his shoulder. "Tell me something I don't know. What I need is a way of binding him to my service forever. I plan to communicate with Bowser after my victory on Corneria. His attitudes toward his children will be the key."

" _And if Bowser is still the way you left him—he'll treat Ludwig as a traitor, and be defensive about his precious Junior. But after we cowed him into submission last time how will we get him to attack? He is shallow but not mentally impaired._ "

Scales smirked. "A lot's happened since I killed you, _Tata_. Bowser only thinks I have the Triforce. He'll be shocked to see my transformation. And if I lead him to belief it has weakened me, he'll grow bold enough to do something stupid."

K. Rool smiled and inhaled.

" _Then will be the perfect time to test Ludwig's loyalty._ "


	13. Corneria Falls

A peaceful sunset in Corneria City ended in absolute horror. Thousands looked up to see thousands of individual points of light appear only to solidify into hundreds of Venomian warships and countless fighters.

Scales's new powers, gathered from many sources, all incredibly powerful in their own right, were terrifying to the very Venomians they had brought to Corneria, not the least to the one who'd effectively put the crown on Scales's head, Wolf O'Donnell.

The Wolfens were being held in the hangar bay of Scales's flagship. In all the hub-bub of pilots scurrying to their fighters, the three members of Star Wolf remained apart. They were being paid specifically to take Star Fox down. Until Star Fox showed up they were to be held in reserve. That much suited Wolf, but something was troubling him deep down; Panther too, from the look of it.

Wolf stood watching fighters depart and return. Panther was sitting on a crate next to the Wolfens. It was Leon, leaning his back against the wall who broke the silence.

"You're finally beginning to fear it."

Wolf half-turned and cocked an eyebrow. Panther turned a full 1800 on his seat to face the chameleon.

"Finally fear what?" Panther asked.

"The old SharpClaw bloodlust I warned you about back on Sauria. Our glorious emperor might not believe their primitive superstitions, but he has clearly set himself in the pattern of a SharpClaw conqueror. There is only one thing more terrifying: a SharpClaw conqueror with greater resources and intelligence than Andross. A megalomaniac operating in that tradition is truly the most terrifying thing this system can see."

"You're the one who helped him kill K. Rool, the only one who was keeping him on a leash, Leon!" Wolf said

Leon shrugged. "K. Rool wanted the same thing. It doesn't really matter if we're dealing with one or the other." Then almost as an afterthought, Leon added, "Besides, K. Rool was rude to me. If we are going to have an unchallengeable sadistic despot, he might as well have good manners."

Wolf and Panther stared at Leon, then at each other.

Wolf actually considered for a moment that Leon, not Scales, K. Rool, Pigma, or Andross, was the greatest danger to the Lylat System. He certainly had confused priorities.

"Have either of you thought what will happen to Star Wolf once the entire Lylat System belongs to Scales?"

"He'll probably still have use for us in whatever world he wants to conquer next," Panther said.

Wolf left Leon and Panther to their discussion. He tried to push the foreboding feelings away. It was necessary that the Lylat Wars end this way. Repair work would begin almost immediately when Corneria surrendered. Still, this was Wolf's homeworld. Heck, it was Andross's homeworld! Wolf still had family on this planet; he couldn't help but worry for them a bit while the battle was going on. For Scales this was a battle of egos: his own versus Andross's and Fox McCloud's simultaneously. Leon had a mysterious grudge to settle with Falco Lombardi. Wolf hated and admired McCloud at the same time, and found himself wishing his rival a quick death. It would be better than anything Scales had planned.

An antelope technician broke into Wolf's thoughts.

"Sir, our sensors have picked up Arwings. It's Star Fox."

* * *

Ludwig and his Maestro watched from the observation deck. This was the first time either one of them had seen Star Wolf and Star Fox battle each other. Ludwig knew that this moment would be historical, the end of a rivalry spanning more than a decade in the most destructive war in Lylat history. His eyes were glued, but as he turned he noticed Scales's eyes were closed.

"Maestro? You don't want to watch this?"

"Silence, Apprentice!" Scales snapped before a smile formed on his maw. "I've got you now!"

Ludwig was a bit confused as to what was truly happening at first, but then he remembered.

He's got psychic powers. Andross gained them through biological experiments and Scales's nanites replicated the effect on him. That's how he's getting into Fox's head.

The scary thing was that Scales had the power of the Star Rod too. He'd gifted Ludwig with psychic abilities. When the Koopa prince first tried using them yesterday on Venom, he'd had such a sensory overload that he didn't want to use them again.

Without opening his eyes, Scales said, "You know Falco Lombardi from the Super Smash Bros. Tournaments. Use the psychic powers I gave you and focus on him."

Ludwig nodded and looked out at the air battle. He knew that Falco was in one of the four Arwings—three. One had a shaky trajectory. That had to be Fox succumbing to Maestro's mental attacks. It was being shot to the ground by a Wolfen which Ludwig knew had to belong to O'Donnell. That meant that the most skilled pilot still in the air on the Cornerian side had to be Lombardi. Ludwig focused on that fighter, closed his eyes and began to hear his thoughts.

 _Crud! What are we going to do now!_ The bird thought as he yelled commands at Krystal and Slippy.

 _~Don't even think about conferring with your teammates.~_

 _Don't go crazy now, keep it together._

Ludwig could now see the Arwing's controls.

~ _Why don't we make a U-turn, get Powalski off our backs, and fire on Slippy. His voice always annoyed me._ ~

Falco made the U-turn but, to Ludwig's surprise, he fired on Leon, not Slippy.

Ludwig broke concentration. Lombardi wasn't as tough as McCloud, but he was having less success than Maestro.

Fox had just ejected and his Arwing crashed.

Scales opened his eyes and breathed in.

"Victory!"

The moment was ruined by his apprentice's lack of progress.

Ludwig was smiling nervously.

"I'm sorry. Would like the battle set to easy mode? This isn't a video game Ludwig!"

"Maestro, the bird fought back—

Scales interrupted, "Lombardi is your destination, use someone more personal as your fuel." Scales was silent for a moment, before adding, "I've read you, Ludwig. You know who I'm talking about."

Ludwig understood perfectly. He closed his eyes, searched for Lombardi again, found him, and unleashed every angry resentful thought he'd ever had…toward Junior. This time Falco was only able to resist the urge to fire at Slippy by running his fighter's left wing into the side of a building.

Star Fox's best pilots were out of the fight.

"Now to get them where I want them," Scales stood, holding his face tense. In moments he had teleported McCloud and Lombardi into holding cells on the flag ship. His face relaxed.

"Maestro?" Ludwig asked.

"Fox McCloud has been the bane of my existence since the Saurian Crisis." He sat back down. "Death is too good for him. And Powalski wants to destroy Lombardi. Then there is Krystal, Fox and Panther's love interest. What to do with her?" Scales looked directly at Ludwig, "She's not much of a pilot, but she has a fair measure of natural defense against psychic abilities. Focus on me, follow my thoughts to her, and together we will immobilize her long enough to teleport her here."

"And what of Slippy Toad?" Ludwig asked.

"He's of no concern."

 _You're being short-sighted, Ivar_ , K. Rool thought.

 _I meant as an emotional toy. Of course his intelligence is valuable, Tata,_ Scales responded.

After Scales silenced his father, he gave Ludwig the orders, "Follow my mind."

Ludwig immediately closed his eyes, waiting for the blackness to be replaced with the inside of Krystal's Arwing and felt a chill enter his shell. There was another presence in his Maestro's mind. It wasn't necessarily more evil or megalomaniacal than Scales himself, but it had a deep personal hatred for Bowser's children. It couldn't be Andross; the technichians had made sure of that and Scales had been clear that he'd left the Shadow Queen's consciousness bound. Even if it was her, why would she hate the Koopa royal family so much?

Scales noticed Ludwig's mind slowing, and knew the cause.

 _Tata, you're scaring my apprentice, and I need him right now._

 _Sorry,_ K. Rool thought.

Scales changed the target of his anger.

 _Ludwig, stay focused._

Ludwig made the mental effort to obey, but it was unnecessary as the inside of Krystal's Arwing materialized before his eyes. He saw a ghostly image of his Maestro's new form blasting red energy at Krystal from his cybernetic hand. She was unaware but a white shield protector. Ludwig focused on all his negative feelings toward Junior, and spat out a flame breath that combined with his Maestro's energy broke the shield. She was unable to see them but she recognized Scales's presence.

"Scales?"

"That's right, me."

With a flick of his finger, Scales teleported her to Fox's cell. Then he turned to Ludwig.

"Let's return our bodies."

* * *

The battle lasted well into the night, but as soon as Star Fox was captured, its outcome was a forgone conclusion. Ludwig was actually taking part in a real conquest of an entire world that actually worked! The young Koopa Prince who was now Scales's undisputed choice to rule Darklands followed his Maestro to the brig. Star Wolf was already there. Ludwig wanted to control elite warriors like them.

Apparently Fox was already bickering with Wolf across the pulsating purple energy bars of the cell he shared with Krystal, to whom Panther was trying to avoid giving deliberate looks of lust. Leon made no effort to mask the bloodlust and—was that a hint of vengeance?—in his eyes when he looked at Falco.

There was a lot of history between the people in this room that Ludwig wanted to know. Wolf shut up though when Scales banged his silver state scepter against. There was now only one personal history in this room that mattered.

"Scales? What happened to you?" Fox asked, referring to his captor's mutated new appearance.

"A touch of Andross's nanites, seasoned with some abilities picked up in Hyrule and Mushroom Planet. All useful ingredients."

"You are that overpowered? All of this to take on us? You're a coward," Krystal, who had the longest history with Scales. Despite his Maestro's attempts to deflect Krystal's statements away, Ludwig still could read enough of Scales's mind to know there was some truth in what Krystal said.

"I didn't acquire all this power to deal with you. I got it to deal with Corneria. Finishing what the three of us began on Sauria was just an added bonus."

Scales raised his organic hand and squeezed thin air. Fox was pulled as if by an invisible rope to almost touch the bars.

"You have spent all these years since our first encounter thinking you beat me. If Andross hadn't interfered, your broiled skull would have a place in my closet." He released his hold on Fox, the he turned to Krystal.

"I've succeeded where Andross failed. It was not only you but him as well that I was fighting today. Tell me am I any more of a coward than the old ape was?"

"He was never this desperate!" Krystal shot back at Scales.

"Nor this successful," Scales retorted. "Anyway, it's better to be a coward than to be what you've become."

"And what is that?"

"A trophy." Krystal stepped back.

"You were one long before today. You've been one ever since Fox rescued you from Andross. And the sad part is Fox didn't make you a trophy; you did that to yourself. Joining an elite an elite mercenary team because the leader saved your life is one thing. Becoming his girlfriend, now that's something else altogether."

Krystal and Fox looked at each other. Had they dated? Yes. Broken up? Yes. Gotten back together? Still yes. But never did Krystal think she owed Fox a relationship. He'd saved her life and she was grateful, but that was a far as it went. What happened later happened on its own.

"But the two of you are truly in love," Scales said, "Which is going to make things difficult for Panther."

Scales looked over his shoulder.

"Would you still want her, even if she doesn't love you back?"

Panther now had a sympathetic look on his visage, which he neither overtly tried to show to Krystal nor conceal from her.

"Give her time. If she still doesn't want me, I'll let her go."

Fox and Krystal started to speak up but Scales froze them in place. They were still conscious. Scales looked at Fox.

"I have a fate much worse than death in store for you McCloud. I want to keep on hurting you." Ironically, Scales had a crystal from Dark Ice Mines in his cybernetic hand.

"I'm going to trap you as Andross trapped Krystal, fully conscious, but unable to communicate, observe, or interact with the outside world, and with an eternity to brood over your failure."

Krystal, obeying Scales's psychic commands, was freed from paralysis and walked back to the cot where she fell asleep.

The crystal glowed green and fired what looked like a green laser into McCloud's chest. Fox's whole body became a green outline that the crystal sucked back in.

"No!" Falco screamed.

"Don't shed too many tears over McCloud. You have ended up in Dr. Powalski's hands."

Leon was already looking at Falco thinking of ways to make him suffer.

Scales had managed to read enough biographical material to know that Leon and Falco's father were both immigrants to Corneria from Macbeth. It all had something to do with some kind of violence that Falco's father, an adult rebel, had been party to, against Leon and his sister, two juvenile aristocrats. The little Powalski girl was dead. Leon had later killed Carmine Lombardi as one of his first serial murders on Corneria at age fifteen, but had never gotten caught. Falco had apparently spent the years between his father's death at age four and his return to Corneia, ten years later, on Zoness.

He knew that revealing he knew such information might cost Leon's loyalty, but he wanted the chameleon as his interrogator.

"Gentlemen," he said, addressing Wolf, Panther, and Ludwig, "Let's give the doctor some privacy."

He had already blown up the Cornerian Senate, President's Mansion, and Corneria City's military installations. Enemy radio confirmed that General Pepper was dead, and Scales already had Slippy Toad accounted for. United Cornerian resistance would be broken after today. A Venomian pacification force would be needed of course, but more pressing needs arose on Mushroom Planet. Scales could cite his transformation and conquest as reasons for weakness.

He stumbled as he walked.

Ludwig quickly grabbed Scales's shoulders.

"Maestro, are you all right?"

Scales remained silent for a moment taking slow breaths.

"I-I over -t-taxed myself. Too s-soon after tans-formation."

"How can I help?" Ludwig asked.

"For now—let me take—my powers back. I need them to heal. I need to go home…to Crocodile Isle."


	14. Homecoming

Bowser stood nervously with Kamek and Kammy at the landing platform in the Royal Koopa Airport. Scales had just returned from Venom and—to Bowser's surprise—brought all eight Koopalings with him. Naturally they had stopped first on Krematoa, so it was K. Rool's Flying Croc, not Scales's flagship that was landing here.

"It's a good thing too. His flagship's too big to fit on the runway," Kammy said, noticing the Flying Croc entering their range of vision.

"Who cares about that!?" Bowser said. His children were finally coming home!...Why would Scales let his most valuable hostages go? Had he chosen to get rid of the whole family and leave only that traitor Ludwig as his puppet monarch? Bowser wanted to burn his eldest's shell for his shift in loyalty.

He was very proud of his youngest, and Bowser knew now who the true heir to Darklands would be. Junior was independent, knew how to shift from being polite to underhanded as the situation arose. He'd just needed Bowser to stop babying him.

"I hope that traitor, Ludwig, isn't with them," Bowser said. "One way or another, the next King of Darklands will be Bowser IV."

Kammy scowled, turning her view from the incoming airship to Bowser.

"Your heftiness is aware that you have six other children?"

"Only one can inherit!" Bowser shot back.

"Traditionally that goes to the eldest male. But even if we wave tradition about gender, Lemmy is still your second hatched. Disqualify Ludwig, and Lemmy becomes heir by default."

Bowser stroked his chin. Lemmy had never really done anything to be disinherited for, or anything in general for that matter, and he was so small. The Koopa Health agency listed dwarfism as a medical disorder. Bowser and Clawdia had been worried sick about Lemmy, but when the doctors assured them that Lemmy could potentially live a full Koopa life-expectancy they'd stopped worrying, and noticing. Lemmy was the first victim of "Middle Child Syndrome" especially after the hatching of Roy, who'd always had a temper and showed no respect. He'd taken the family's attention as a problem child. Iggy was severely unstable, not really dangerous to anyone except himself. With no malice in his heart, Bowser knew that this Iggy just couldn't be Ignatius VII. Bowser was relieved when the next egg hatched a sane girl. He could indulge her, spoil her, and actually let her be his favorite. That brought Bowser back to the present. He was getting so caught up in Junior and Ludwig he'd forgotten all about Wendy. As his only girl, she was his most unique, and would always hold a special place in his heart. And if he had to consider both Wendy and Junior, he couldn't help but look at all the children in between. Morton was a bit slow, and Larry, well, Larry didn't have many outstanding features, good or bad. Bowser just realized how much he'd ignored Lemmy and Larry. We'll he'd correct that mistake. He'd be a better parent to all his children—all except one.

The Flying Croc was beginning its descent. Bowser could keep his children safe once they were on the ground. He felt his heard jump as the aircraft lowered on to the landing pad. The door opened and, to Bowser's disgust, Ludwig, head held high, was the first to descend the stairs.

"Father, I see you've let yourself go," Ludwig looked at Bowser waistline.

"I've been really stressed about all of you, and how do you repay my love and concern? By turning traitor and accepting Scales's whole program!"

"I conquered an entire world!" Ludwig spat at Bowser, "Something you've never done!"

Bowser's rage gave way to shame.

"Outta my way, traitor!" Bowser looked up at that voice. It was his little princess. She quickly ran pushed Ludwig off the steps and ran into her daddy's arms. The hug was sweet, but Wendy broke it off and said to Bowser, "Daddy, you've gotten fat."

"Daddy's been worried and turned to comfort eating," Bowser explained, looked at the kids emerging—Junior, Iggy, and Morton were all there—and added, "But Daddy's not depressed anymore and can start an exercise regime."

Junior, Iggy, and Morton all walked down from the aircraft slowly. By the time Junior was on the last step, Roy's pink hair was already jutting out the door. Once his younger brothers were down Roy charged the stairs.

He ran towards Bowser, only to back up and say, "Man, Dad, you've gotten fatter than Morton!"

"Shut up! I can go on a diet!" Bowser growled, trying to display anger. On the inside though, he'd actually missed Roy's insults.

Bowser took a look back to see Lemmy slowly make his way down the stairs with a quiet dignity.

Bowser didn't rush toward him. He watched him slowly walk towards him, and then firmly but gently put a hand on his dwarf son's shell.

"You're all home," he said holding back tears, "All seven of you."

Ludwig was still laying on the pavement where Wendy had pushed him. His stomach and chest hurt from the impact of the fall. Both knees were scrapped. However, Ludwig's physical pains were less than the pain his dad's words caused.

 _All seven of you._

Ludwig clenched his fists, looked up and growled.

"Has it occurred to you that I've been saving our house, you stupid sack of lard?!"

Bowser's face grew stern with an equal but opposite surge of his own anger.

"How? By selling out your heritage for the promise of more power?"

Ludwig stared back at Bowser. "Scales would never have conquered Coneria without me! He owes me and he knows. I played an invaluable part in consolidating his empire! He'll make me king in Darklands, and when I figure out how to take him down, I'll be emperor of the multiverse!"

Bowser paused for a minute. Ludwig's plan was actually pretty smart. He had to give him that much. But the respect he was developing for Ludwig's machinations died only a few seconds after its birth when Ludwig said, "But you are too much of an idiot to see anything beyond Princess Peach! Your little schemes have led us from one defeat to another. If it weren't for Kammy and Kamek you'd be nothing!"

"I raised you, you little brat! If you're so clever where do you think your brains come from?"

"Maybe from my mother whom you've completely forgotten!"

Bowser's rage boiled over into a surge of flame breath.

"I…NEVER…Forgot CLAWDIA… EVER!" He deliberately slowed his speech and emphasized the words bearing this most import, but everyone could tell his voice was shaking. He raised an unsteady finger and pointed at Ludwig.

"You have no right to speak of her. Now be silent or be silenced!"

Ludwig leaned his head back and laughed.

"Then you'll never hear your new orders."

"I don't take orders from you, you idiot!" Bowser raged.

"From the Emperor, moron. He wants you to kidnap Peach as a diversion for the invasion of Mushroom Kingdom," Ludwig laughed maniacally.

* * *

"Nine hundred, your evilness…901, your evilness…" Kammy counted as Bowser did crunches. If he was going to kidnap Peach soon, he had to lose all this weight he had gained. Dragon Koopas had a metabolism that helped them to lose weight much more quickly than they gained it. In about a week at Bowser's current pace, he'd be good to go. Scales could wait that long. He'd just conquered a planet hadn't he?

When Kammy said, "One thousand," Bowser fell back on the floor, out of breath, his abs burning. Once his breath returned, Bowser raised himself to a sitting position and ran his claw over his abs. They were already noticeably less pudgy.

"Peach can't see me with all this blubber," Bowser spoke as he stared off into the distance. Then he looked back to Kammy with fiery determination in his eyes. "We're really gonna win this time!"

"How does your viciousness suppose?"

"Scales conquered an entire plant, and we know what happened we went up against him. There's no way that plumber can beat all these forces. Mario's end is near, and Peach will be all mine."

"Assuming the Emperor lets you keep her."

"Why wouldn't he? I've obeyed all the orders he has sent me and been a good vassal," Bowser folded his arms around his chest. Still, something troubled him. Why had Scales sent all his children back? They were the hostages who ensured Bowser's loyalty. Knowing that they were safe and the idea of kidnapping Peach was enough to get his loyalty for this plot, but after that? Did Scales expect Bowser to remain loyal in the future when Scales had no leverage? But then, Scales didn't need Bowser's loyalty, he already had Ludwig's.

 _He'll make me king in Darklands, and when I figure out how to take him down, I'll be emperor of the multiverse!_

No, he didn't have Ludwig's loyalty after all. He was Ludwig's tool, not his master. The one Bowser really needed to talk to was his eldest son.

* * *

Ludwig opened his door after he heard someone knocking. To his surprise it was his father.

"What do you want?" Ludwig asked. It would be uncharacteristic for Bowser to forgive Ludwig so quickly after a year of perceived disloyalty.

"Um, listen, Luddy," Bowser twirled his hand around, "I know I said you were a traitor, but didn't you also say that you wanted to take Scales's place?"

Was Ludwig hearing his father correctly? He was actually approving his plan?

"Of course I said that! You think I like being stuck as his apprentice?"

Apprentice? Bowser thought. No wonder he's been so loyal to him.

"You see, Scales has acquired more power since he captured us. He's absorbed the powers of the Star Rod and the Shadow Queen, and fused his body with Andross's nanites. He's powerful enough to open portals in spacetime large enough to transport entire fleets, and he can even enter people's minds."

Bowser stepped one foot backward.

The dinocroc was that powerful now? Going head to head against him would be suicide. But now if there was an indirect route…

"You said he made you his apprentice. What do you mean?"

Ludwig smiled.

"He gave me a small part of his power to use in the Battle of Corneria. I toyed with one of the Star Fox pilots' mind, and his only escape was to ram his Arwing in the side of a building."

Now Bowser was smiling. He'd love to be able to do something like that to Mario.

Ludwig saw the smile, and preempted Bowser's next thought.

"Scales took my powers back after the battle. He overexerted himself too soon after his transformation and need his full strength back to heal."

Bowser bared his teeth.

"So he's vulnerable now."

"He probably hasn't fully healed yet. That was a major transformation."

Bowser nodded, and pounded his left fist into his right palm.

"So if we go to the Mushroom Kingdom and obey his orders, while we send you, Kammy and Kamek to Krematoa—

"He's at Rulenstain Keep on Crocodile Isle."

"Same difference. They'll cast a spell to steal his power and you'll absorb it. Then the Koopas will rule once again!" Bowser laughed maniacally.

Ludwig folded his arms and tapped his foot. When Bowser stopped laughing he noticed.

"Are you waiting for something?"

Ludwig turned up a hand and started counting on his claws.

"An apology for calling me a traitor. Another for treating Junior as your favorite. One for abandoning the memory of your children's mother so you could go chasing after Peach. And finally one for not counting me as one of your children."

Bowser sighed and inclined his head.

"Son, I'm sorry for saying you were a traitor, and saying I only had seven kids, but I can't apologize for the rest."

Ludwig expected this much. He knew Bowser didn't love their mother, and was closest to the one who never knew her.

"I had to treat Junior special, because he only had one parent. All the rest of you, even Larry, remember your mom. Junior didn't hatch until after she died. I had to be both dad and mom to him. That's why I want Peach. Junior needs a real mother. If Clawdia were still here do you think I'd care anything about the Mushroom Princess?"

Ludwig had never heard this side of Bowser before. He felt a tear well up.

"You mean you'd still love mom if she were alive?"

Bowser's own tear was welling.

"I still love her even though she's gone. But Junior needs a living mother. Do you think I'd want it to be a different mother from the rest of you if it could be helped?"

Ludwig realized how badly he'd misjudged his father. He wasn't a dumb beefcake after all.


	15. Confrontation

Scales drew the covers over himself on the bed that once belonged to K. Rool. Everyone had to believe that he had truly weakened himself for his plan to work. While drawing upon the amounts of psychic energy he'd used normally would be a weakening process, Andross's nanites kept his blood pressure and adrenalin levels in check. He could put himself under extreme levels of mental and emotional strain without any physical side effects. He could even select target muscles to exercise while remaining, to all appearances, still.

Thinking about exercise, Scales mused for a moment on K. Rool. His father's body was shaped in such a way that his belly always protruded forward just a bit, but K. Rool had been a careful eater, had powerful arms and jumping prowess that could put Mario to shame. Still, he had the image of a fat overly indulgent king that Scales never wanted to worry about. The monarch rubbed his belly and smiled. No hint of fat. This body was perfect.

" _This is the body I always wanted,"_ K. Rool said from inside Scales'head. K. Rool's transparent figure appeared, sitting on the edge of Scales' bed.

K. Rool was interrupting Scales's thoughts on an increasingly frequent basis.

"It's my body," Scales said, more to himself than the mind he shared his new body with.

" _I'm just as much a resident as you are. The little voice in your head to keep you on track."_

"You were an incompetent coward who was afraid to face death—"

"— _As are you, dear boy. Neither of us want to be nonexistent. But enough about our fears. I'd rather discuss the final fall of our rival. When I was alive I thought letting them witness the fall of Darklands and the resurfacing of Crocodile Isle would be enough, but you've persuaded me differently, clever boy. When Bowser feels the noose tighten around his neck and knows that it is his own son, Ludwig, who tightens it, then you shall truly encompass his doom."_

Scales laughed.

"Even when we share a body I still can't bring myself to understand you father. We've proven ourselves better villains than Bowser time and time again. When are you going to turn your attention to the one who actually humiliated you, Cranky Kong?"

" _We both know that you are not ending your stay here until you conquer the planet. Once that's secure, you can easily sink Donkey Kong Island."_

"Hmm…" Scales mused aloud. That was the way he remembered his father best: merciless to heroes, but holding a special hate for anyone the public thought more evil than himself. K. Rool felt derided by the Mushroom Planet media. His attempt to starve DK Island and then to blow it up counted for nothing as long as the world thought kidnapping a Princess to marry her was worse than genocide. And of course, looking at it from that perspective, Scales agreed with his father.

Someone knocked at Scales's door. He sat up and K. Rool disappeared.

"Your Majesty," Klump said, "You wanted to be notified when Bowser began his attempt to kidnap Princess Peach?"

"Has he dispatched any airships toward us?" Scales rasped.

"Yes sir. The Koopa Cruiser departed on a trajectory for Crocodile Isle 0:12:00 Darklands Time today with a fleet of airships headed for the Mushroom-"

That was all he needed to hear.

"Shut up, Klump!"

Bowser had taken the bait.

* * *

There would be one force to unite the Multiverse, and it would be Ludwig von Koopa , the Koopa prince thought to himself as he stood at his father's usual post on board the Koopa Cruiser. Kamek and Kammy were both here and would be more than a match for the emperor in his weakened state. After Ludwig conquered the Multiverse he might let Dad keep control of Mushroom world, make Roy the next Mushroom king, give Wendy the duchy of Pleasant Fields, appoint Morton the supreme commander of the treacherous Shy Guy forces, give Larry vice-regal powers over the southern hemisphere, and keep the homeland reserved for Junior to rule. Lemmy could take the place of K. Rool's longtime ally, King Boo. Everyone would be accommodated. And while he was at it, Andrew Oikonny could be rescued and restored to the Venomian throne. Ludwig smiled to himself, having thought that solution up.

Kammy looked at the smile on Ludwig's face and ventured, "What is Your Underhandedness plotting?"

"How to allocate power in this dimension once I rule the Multiverse," Ludwig said as if it were the most casual thing in the world.

"I'd advise you don't plan too far. The emperor isn't dead yet."

"No, but I tasted real power in Lylat and I want more of it." Scales had whetted Ludwig's appetite and know the de facto head of Koopa royalty wanted pure energy to pulse through his body once more. Ludwig looked at Kammy, pointing a finger whenever he wanted to make an important point.

"Our mission is to take that power from Scales, and we are not coming back until we do."

It was then that Kamek interrupted.

"Your Malevolence should be prepared for the event that we can't still Scales' power and have no option other than to eliminate the threat at its source."

Ludwig turned to face Kamek, and actually being taller than him stared down at him angrily.

"We kill the emperor and have no replacement, we leave the empire rudderless. We'll lose Lylat, the Kremling territories, total leverage over the Shy Guys…"

Kammy grew concerned for the prince's grip on reality. "Your Genius, we do not have control of those territories at present. It would be impossible for us to lose them."

Ludwig turned back to face Kammy, not nearly enough caution in his face.

"We practically already have them. Only one life stands between me and the greatest empire in history."

"Your Highness," one of the Hammer Bros. pilots said, "We approaching Crocodile Isle."

"Very good," Ludwig said. "Begin our descent and land us near Rulenstain Keep."

* * *

Scales had sensed the Koopa Cruiser land. He had already dispatched orders to the Kremling guards to let the Koopas pass. He sat now in the only chair of the bedroom—a wooden seat and back rest supported by a jet black iron framework. The piece of furniture projected the brutal metallic force of Kremling power, but the Koopas were also expecting Scales to be weak. He'd humor them; why not? The emperor slipped on a dark red robe which extended all the way down to his feet. The robe hid the condition of his body. It could be atrophied for all they knew.

The unlocked door opened.

"My young apprentice, shouldn't you be with your father right now?" Scales asked the blue-haired Koopaling, ignoring the pair of Magikoopas with him.

"The future of the empire necessitates my presence here," Ludwig said, looking into Scales' eyes with confidence. "The empire is suffering a crisis in leadership."

Scales drew himself back in the chair, put on a smile, and ventured, "How am to take that statement, my young apprentice?"

"As justification for your deposition," Ludwig's voice was shouting at the end of his statement.

"I built this empire, forged it through conquest," Scales waved his cybernetic hand over his mutant body, "just as I forged this body. The empire and I are one and the same."

"Not if I can help it," Ludwig said calmly.

"You are most welcome to try," Scales replied with equal calmness. Then, suddenly, violently, he fired nanites from the cybernetic projection above his wrist at Kammy, Kamek, and Ludwig.

Kammy was the first to snap out of shock.

"That barely hurt."

True, Scales noted, but then his intention had never been to simply hurt.

As Kammy tried to concentrate to cast a spell, she found her mind unable to focus on the spell. Kamek and Ludwig were having no better luck. Then something no one expected happened.

Scales leapt from the chair, a needle now extending above his wrist. He landed in front of Kammy and sent the needle into her carotid artery. She collapsed as Ludwig and Kamek struggled in vain to cast spells.

Kamek was the first to stop attempting to fight with magic. Looking at Kammy's motionless body he realized he could still fight with poison. Taking the jeweled top off his wand he parried Scales's strong but thin needle in a vicious knife fight.

Ludwig stood watching until he remembered that his wand also held a poisoned small needle. He could stab Scales in the back while Kamek was fighting him…but he couldn't. They could only kill Scales after they stole his power. As it was, the empire would fracture with the dinocroc's death.

Scales and Kamek had chased each other to a positon in front of the bedroom's fireplace. Scales's drew his cybernetic hand back and Kamek started to plunge his knife into Scales abdomen when Ludwig's fire breath burnt Kamek's hand. Kamek dropped his wand and both he and Scales looked at Ludwig.

"Ludwig, what are you doing?!"

"Someone needs to absorb his power. If he dies without that, the empire will fall apart!"

Scales remained silent and expressionless as he looked at Ludwig, but on the inside he was smiling.

"There's no one to absorb his power! He's a too great a threat to Darklands!"

Darklands? Darklands!? Was that the limit of Kamek's vision? The Koopas should rule the multiverse.

"We can't kill him yet!"

Kamek looked to Scales, then to his wand. Scales followed him.

"But it seems I can kill you."

Scales jabbed the needle into Kamek's neck and the Magikoopa fell to the floor.

There was no question now that he'd killed Kammy earlier. Ludwig had delivered his family's most trusted servants into the hands of this monster. Their deaths were on Ludwig's head. They had been like family members and Ludwig had killed them. He was the one who came up with this mission. He hated himself. Kammy and Kamek could not forgive him from where they were now, and Bowser would not welcome him home ever again. But this was right. Ludwig had killed them. He was beyond forgiving.

Scales looked at the blue-haired Koopaling, shedding tears and inaudibly mumbling to himself.

"You couldn't have made any difference, you know. My nanites would have healed me of any wound or poison."

Ludwig still didn't respond.

"I'm giving you back the psychic powers I lent you on Venom, and deactivating the nanites that keep your mind from hyper-concentration. But there is a caveat. I'm setting up a link between our minds. If you ever find anything you think can destroy me, I'll know and stop you."

Scales didn't need to ask if Ludwig was listening. He was too caught up in the deaths of the Magikoopas.

"I'm _bealu_ ," Ludwig said. It was an Old Koopa word that meant truly morally evil. The word "Evilness" by which the Kings of Darklands traditionally went by was "O" a Shy Guy loanword which could mean evilness but depending on what connotations one gave it could simply mean "fierce."

Scales was not an expert on the history of Darklands Koopa, but he knew what Ludwig was thinking.

"Yes, Ludwig, you are indeed evil and a monster," he said without any emotion, then added in a taunting voice, "Just like me. You betrayed your own family, just like me."

Ludwig stared out the window, trying to keep his gaze off Kammy and Kamek's bodies.

"I can never go home," Ludwig mumbled.

"That's right," Scales said, "Because I'm the only one who will have you."

Those words of Scales' did sink in and Ludwig felt his own shame confirm them.

He hated Scales more than he had ever hated any being before. There was only one way to escape.

Ludwig picked up his knife but before he could harm himself, Scales' froze his hand.

"I'm linked to your thoughts, young Koopa, and I still have use for you."


	16. The Private Life of Bowser III

AN: It might seem like K. Rool is breaking the rules of the Triforce here, but there will be an explanation later.

Peach's Castle grew larger as Bowser's airship approached at the head of his armada. He'd been through this drill often enough. His problem was not so much kidnapping Peach as it was holding on to her. He'd actually lost count of the number of times he'd kidnapped her. Mario just always stole her back. Bowser was tired of the long conflict and desperately wanted Peach to marry him, and now, thanks to Ludwig, he'd finally succeed. Mario was no longer an issue. The Princess herself…now that was a different animal altogether. How to go about making her like him? He was always nice to her, he thought. Maybe if he forced a private dinner…then they could discuss all the reasons why Peach couldn't see them together without anyone to censure Peach's free expression, or for Bowser to act tough in front of.

"Papa, I don't have a good feeling about this," Junior said.

His biggest reason for marrying Peach was having second thoughts.

"What's the problem, Junior?" Bowser returned to his airship throne and beckoned Junior to sit in his lap. Junior obeyed readily.

"It's just that this time, kidnapping Mama Peach was the Emperor's idea, and he's scary."

"No need to worry son. Your big brother Ludwig is going to take care of him."

Bowser looked closer at Junior, curled a claw under his chin and gently moved his head so he could look in his eyes. Junior was definitely worried.

"I don't think Luddy can do it, Papa."

Bowser bit back his own response. Years of taking Junior's side over Ludwig's couldn't be allowed to turn into a nasty backlash, especially when Bowser himself was most to blame.

"Now, now, Junior," Bowser began softly. "I've always stood up for you when Ludwig doubted you. You don't get to start doubting him now."

"But the Emperor is smart, really smart. He's smarter than Luddy and may even be smarter than you, Papa."

Bowser was touched that his youngest still regarded him as the smartest being in the multiverse, but knew that he'd have to face reality one day.

"Smarts don't count for everything, Junior—I mean look at me and Mario."

Junior seemed to perk up at the mention of the longtime rival.

"We both know I'm smarter than him, right?"

Junior reluctantly nodded.

"You can tell where this is going. I'm smarter but he always beats me."

Junior looked away, not letting Bowser see his frown, but suddenly his voice perked.

"But Mario won't beat you this time, Papa!"

"That's the plan. We can't win all at once, but Mario never has either. We just have to be patient. We'll capture Peach, Mario will chase after us, Luddy will get the Emperor's powers, and we'll use them on the plumber when this is all over."

Junior smiled. Maybe his papa was smarter than that scary Emperor after all.

Bowser smiled but was doing so for a different reason. He'd finally appreciated Ludwig's advice on patience. Bowser was ready for a whole different ballgame now.

* * *

Peach waited on her balcony, sipping tea. So the Koopas had invaded again. They did it anywhere from once to three times a year—and always failed. Peach even felt comfortable with what was probably going to happen next. While Mario and Luigi fought to help the Toads in danger in Toad Town or the lower floors of the castle, Bowser would probably kidnap Peach from her position up here on the balcony with his stupid clown car. She fully expected to be kidnapped and Mario to rescue her before the week was over. She calmly continued to occasionally sip her tea.

She did enjoy time with the younger Koopalings, and Bowser could be charming sometimes, but kidnapping someone was not the way to make them your queen.

She noticed a large fireball being shot out of the cannon on one of the airships, probably striking some building in Toad Town. She made a silent wish to the stars that no one was hurt in the exchange, but prided herself that the building would soon be rebuilt, good as new. Toads had to be the world's fastest workers. All the times Bowser destroyed sections of Toad Town did not show up in the city's appearance.

The Toads were Peach's only concern. If not for them, she'd probably find Bowser's endless kidnappings entertaining. The Koopa King always failed spectacularly, so her safety was assured. These events were actually the highlight of her year, because she was never bored for one instant during her "ordeals."

The Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom raised her head as she heard the familiar whirring of the clown car come into earshot. She looked up to see Bowser in the distance, becoming larger as he drew near her.

"Good evening, my dear princess," he called about two-and-a-half meters away from the balcony.

"I believe this is the point when you kidnap me?" Peach asked as Bowser descended to almost touch the balcony.

Bowser thought for a moment and then replied, "Yeah. I guess we're at that stage."

"Fine," Peach said, "Mario will rescue me and you might have to rebuild your castle again."

Bowser lowered the clown car. Peach walked forward; Bowser picked her up and put her in the clown car with him.

"Okay, now that you have me, could you stop ravaging my kingdom?" Peach asked.

Bowser chuckled and said, "Come now, Peach, that's how kingdoms expand. It's the natural order of the world. I'll make it up to the Toads when I make you Queen of Darklands."

"You're dreaming, Bowser. Mario will beat you like he always does and you'll have to try again."

Bowser smirked. "I have a secret weapon this time. You've heard of my new boss?"

"King K. Rool's son?"

"He's tapped into a massive power source and incorporated it into his body. My son Ludwig is working on stealing it from him."

Suddenly concern entered Peach's face.

"I see you're worried. See what did I tell you? This time it's gonna be different."

"I wasn't worrying about me or even my kingdom, Bowser," Peach turned her face away from him. "I'm worried about what you might have just unleashed on your own kingdom and family."

* * *

The royal family, and their royal captive, arrived at Bowser's Castle at 5:00 p.m. Ludwig was not scheduled to report back for another four hours. Everything was proceeding as Bowser had planned. The Koopa King could not help but jiggle his claws in excitement.

He turned to look at the two nearest Koopatrol guards.

"Hey, take Peach to her usual room."

The Princess sighed as the Koopatrol led her away. At least they spoke to her politely. He'd talk to her again when Ludwig had Scales's powers and Mario was history.

Now was the time, Bowser thought, to start mending his fractured family. He'd visit all of his children, starting with his second-hatched. Bowser left the foyer and walked upstairs to Lemmy's room.

Bowser thought how fortunate his children were to grow up in such a dread inspiring castle. Stairs made of cobblestone, halls lined with torchlight; it was gothic enough to match anything the Kremlings could ever throw in opposition and had modern elevators and electricity as well.

Well, K. Rool had modern conveniences at his castle before it sank, Bowser admitted. The fact remained though, that he didn't need to rule from some island resort. Thinking about it, the elevators were probably the safest way for certain Koopalings to travel. Bowser, still trying to lose weight, took said cobble stone stairs. He knocked on Lemmy's door.

"Who is it?"

"Lemmy, it's Dad. You got a minute?"

The door opened revealing the dwarf Koopa Prince.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Why don't we step inside," Bowser said, realizing this was the first time he'd ever been in Lemmy's room.

"We don't really talk as much as we should," Bowser said.

"I'm quite all right with that," Lemmy said. "Everyone ignores me, so I'm free to make suggestions to different people behind the scenes to ensure from their interactions that what's best for all of us gets done. I'm not sad you ignored me, Dad. I'm grateful."

Bowser wanted to sit down but the chair and the bed were both too small. Those words Lemmy said stung.

"It still wasn't right to ignore you. You're my kid as much as the others are." Bowser searched for the right words, "Maybe you're okay with it, but I'm not. I want all of us to be a real family again."

"Hmm," Lemmy mused as Bowser sat on the floor. "If you are truly interested in my life, I'd appreciate that, but if you are just trying to assuage guilty feelings, don't bother."

Bowser felt irritated.

"I'm trying to repair this family from the damage I caused. You," Bowser pointed a claw at Lemmy, "Are where Clawdia and I went wrong. When we learned that you were a dwarf we worried ourselves sick over how long you were going to live."

"Reasonable," Lemmy said, "Dwarf Koopas have a shorter average life expectancy. We are more prone to heart attack and stroke."

"But when we learned that there was a better than average chance of you having a full life expectancy, we stopped worrying and forgot we even had a second baby. Then, not too much later, we had Roy and he was a handful from day one."

Lemmy noticed the regret in Bowser's voice. In his careful manner he ventured, "You can't get back lost time, Dad, but you can take an interest in my future."

Bowser looked at Lemmy and smiled.

"What line of work do you want to go into, son?"

"I want to be a judge."

This was the first Bowser had ever heard about that!

"You know the jury are the ones who decide if someone is innocent or guilty."

"In criminal cases. I want to practice in civil court. It's my life goal to bring sanity and stability to the way Koopas go about suing each other."

Bowser laughed and he could see that Lemmy was smiling too.

Bowser now had a real thing he could talk about with Lemmy, and talk about it they did for two whole hours. Bowser next wanted to talk to Larry or Morton, but couldn't decide who to speak to first when he got called away to a strategy meeting in the sub-sub-basement.

By the time the meeting was over, it was time to contact Ludwig.

Bowser remained seated at the elongated donut-shaped, green and red table and swiveled his chair around. He clicked the remote and the image the screen on the wall near the table's head changed. A map showing airship positions over the Mushroom Kingdom was replaced with a static signal from the Koopa Cruiser's comm.

"Ludwig? Have you beaten Scales yet?"

There was no reply. Maybe that was to be expected. Even if Scales was weakened, he still might be too powerful to beat in one hour. Bowser decided he'd wait until 9:30 and try back. He'd missed supper and putting your body into starvation mode tended to keep you from losing fat. Bowser went up to get a protein shake, and, since his mind was on fat, decided that he wanted to talk to Morton next. He might even let the talk go on till 10:00.

Bowser made his way to Morton's room.

"Huh?" Morton said when Bowser knocked on his door.

"Morton, it's Dad. There's something I want to talk to you about."

Without any verbal reply Morton opened his door and Bowser stepped inside. The Koopa King gestured to the side of Morton's bed and the two of them sat down there.

Bowser tried to find a sensitive way to put this but doing so was beyond his capabilities so in a few minutes he simply said, "Morton, you're fat."

"Yeah, so?"

"You are clogging your arteries so much you're putting a strain on your heart."

"Yeah, but I can always lose weight. Isn't that what you're doing?"

Bowser turned his head away for a minute. With just a touch of anger, he spat, "I was depressed! What's your excuse?"

Morton thought for a minute.

"Well…I find exercise…well, boring," Morton responded.

In attempt to find a way to keep Morton from eating himself to death, Bowser asked the same question he'd asked Lemmy, but for completely different reasons.

"Son, what do you want to do with your life?"

Morton thought for a minute.

"I'd like to beat up whimps and pick up chicks."

That reminded Bowser of his own teenage self. There was still hope for Morton.

"You do know there is something that chicks like and wimps are afraid which you can build up on your body, and it weighs even more than fat and doesn't clog your arteries?"

Morton stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at Bowser.

"It's called 'muscle.' I'm willing to work out with you if you want."

Morton started to smile and asked, "Could we start now?"

"Heck no! It's after 9:00 and I want to get some sleep tonight."

"But tomorrow?"

"Yes, son, tomorrow."

"Cool," Morton said.

"Does 8:30 in the morning work for you?"

"That's kinda early."

"No duh. You're supposed to work out early to have the rest of the day for plotting."

Morton looked at little uneasy about what he'd committed to. Bowser smiled ominously, "See you at 8:30, son."

Bowser knew that he could bond with Morton over working out. He decided now was the best time to leave the room.

Bowser went back down to the basement to talk to Ludwig.

"Ludwig, this is King Dad! Koopa Cruiser respond!" still nothing. Bowser looked at the time: 9:38. Bowser had to wait until 10:00. After all, Ludwig had Kammy and Kamek with him. He couldn't be in trouble. Could he?

" _He most certainly can and is."_

Bowser recognized that voice, stood, and turned to see a transparent King K. Rool in his strategy room.

"You," Bowser pointed, "you're dead!"

" _Oh, there are many forms of immortality. I used the Triforce to bind myself to Andross's nanites, which my son absorbed."_

Bowser stopped listening to K. Rool's explanation of how he was there and angrily demanded, "What has happened to Ludwig?"

" _He betrayed you, and now the House of Koopa is doomed."_

Betrayed? Ludwig? That couldn't be true! Not after what he said.

" _Ludwig wanted to be emperor, but he needed to take my son's powers to do that and he couldn't. It was Scales himself who pretended to be weak to put your son in the position of betraying you."_

Scales wasn't really weak?

 _My stars_ , Bowser thought, _I sent them into a trap._

" _Ludwig knew there had to be an emperor, and if he could not overthrow Scales he had to support him. Because of Ludwig, Kamek is dead!"_

"Liar!" Bowser roared and spat fire at K. Rool.

" _I'm not lying. Take this night as my gift to your family, for you have already slept your last peaceful night, Koopa, and tonight your children will do the same."_


	17. Flight

Bowser got no sleep the night K. Rool's ghost spoke to him. How could he, when he had been warned this was his children's "last peaceful night." He stayed in the bunker all night watching the map. His first attempt to call back all his airships from the Mushroom Kingdom began the instant K. Rool disappeared, but all the commanders proved unwilling to return when Bowser made the fatal mistake of saying, "The Emperor is going to kill me tomorrow,"—which was true but wouldn't move his troops—instead of saying, "The Emperor is going to invade Darklands tomorrow," which wasn't true but would have mattered more to the troops—or the best alternative of saying, "The Emperor wants to kill the Royal Family tomorrow," which was both true and would have roused the sympathy of his troops. He used that line on them when he called back an hour later. Slowly he watched the red blips move back across into Darklands airspace. Bowser refused to let himself rest until all their airships were gathered at the castle, but even then he couldn't sleep. He wanted to ask Kamek what do next…but Kamek was dead.

Bowser had faced Scales before and lost. That was before Scales had all his new powers, so how could he win now?

And with none of his forces in the Mushroom Kingdom who would keep Mario busy?

Bowser allowed himself laughter where he could find it. It wasn't often that Mario was the least of his problems.

Still, Bowser needed some kind of strategy. If Scales could take control of the pilots who were flying his airships' minds...Bowser had no way to counteract that.

Panic rushed through Bowser's body, when he saw all the red blips disappear. He had rushed to the topmost floor of the palace, only to be relieved when he saw rows of airships on the ground around the castle. They must have dropped below radar when they landed. This should have calmed Bowser, but it didn't. He was too nervous. Taking the elevator all the way down to the sub-sub-basement he watched anxiously, waiting for a fleet of Venomian fighters to enter radar range. They never did. This sent Bowser's mind into a flurry of activity wondering how Scales would strike him.

A Koopatrol found Bowser slumped in his chair, half-dazed. He did not look well: the eye that wasn't partially closed was bloodshot, and there were circles under both.

"Your evilness?"

"Whuh-whah?" Bowser asked.

"It's morning, sir."

"Unh…" Bowser didn't seem to understand and tried to drift into sleep, but the meaning of the word "morning" hit him.

"Oh, man, Scales's attack!" Bowser jerked to his feet only to find the floor unsteady and himself a bit nauseous.

"Does you're evilness have a strategy?"

Bowser raised his hand to silence the Koopatrol, thought for a minute, then said, "No."

Bowser realized that they had no plan because he couldn't form one. He was facing an incredibly powerful enemy with no resources that could compare…how did Mario ever figure his way out the situations when Bowser was the one threatening the world? Wait a minute…Mario!

Bowser had summoned his seven remaining children, Princess Peach, and his head generals to his dining room. This meeting had a family at its center after all. Everyone could see that Bowser was unwell. Peach didn't understand what had brought the Koopa king so low after his victory the evening before. Morton could venture a guess as to why his dad hadn't woken him up for exercise at 8:30 a. m. as he had said.

Everyone waited for Bowser to speak. When he did he shocked everyone.

"Kammy and Kamek are dead, Ludwig is being forced to act as Scales's puppet, the Emperor wants to destroy this entire royal family," Bowser said as though rapidly reading a list.

"My stars!" Peach said. Her warning to Bowser had been proven all too true.

"He'll punish all Darklands for my trying to assassinate him. It is my command that my army keeps the civilians as safe as possible. I will take only one airship for myself, my children, and Princess Peach and we will seek the aid of …" Bowser hesitated, "…Mario."

The generals and Koopalings all started yelling at each other. Bowser roared and expelled a massive fireball from his throat. He had reclaimed everyone's attention.

"It was Scales who ordered us to attack the Mushroom Kingdom, so they're in trouble too. And we have Princess Peach. Mario will help. I assure you I will be fighting by his side, and the royal family will return when this crisis has abated and the Kremlings are crushed once and for all. Go now and protect the people!" Bowser roared.

The various Koopa, Goomba, and Bob-omb generals started murmuring amongst themselves. There was no heroic sendoff for the king. Everyone knew Bowser was running scared behind his archnemesis for safety. No matter though. They'd keep their people safe with or without Bowser's orders, and while Bowser's own escape looked cowardly, everyone wanted the Koopalings to survive. They took Bowser's order to go ad protect the people as their cue to leave.

When the royal family and Peach were alone Roy ventured, "So ol' Ludwig's a rotten traitor after all. Trusting him was a totally stupid decision, Dad."

"Shut up!" Bowser yelled at Roy. Ludwig had really wanted to take Scales's place and Bowser backed him. Just because he failed and now had to adapt to the consequences, didn't make him a traitor. Bowser wanted Ludwig back.

"Whatever," Roy said with casual disrespect. "I'm first in line now."

Bowser was disgusted with his third hatched.

"I think you're forgetting someone, Roy."

"Me!" Junior exclaimed happily.

"No, Junior. You're the last hatched."

Lemmy knew now that their father was talking about him.

A soft delicate voice cleared her throat. Everyone turned to look at Peach.

"Shouldn't we save all this squabbling for the airship and concentrate now on getting back to my kingdom." For once all the Koopas agreed.

* * *

Bowser slept peacefully in the captain's chair until the airship lurched violently to one side. Upon his rude awakening, he derided the Hammer Bros. co-pilots, "What's wrong with you?! Can't you fly straight?!"

Bowser felt that his nap a replenished a small portion of his strength. He saw the Koopalings and Peach all holding to the rails between Bowser's perch and the Hammer Bros.

"Apologies, Your Evilness, but this freak storm just began a few seconds ago. We're trying to find a path around it." The Hammer Bro on the right was looking at a weather map of their flight path on the screen above his controls. "There are mini super storm cells the entire way from Dark City to Toad Town."

Bowser held on to his chair as the ship swayed again. A thought occurred to him. In legend the Shadow Queen was capable of such things, and anyone with the Star Rod was equally capable.

"K. Rool!" Bowser growled.

Everyone stared, and Bowser decided that now was not the best time that to reveal that their true enemy now a bodiless entity.

"I mean 'Scales!'"

Everyone dropped their curiosity. This had been K. Rool's diabolical plan all along. He'd never give up power, even to his own son. He'd known Scales would kill him and gather the energy of the Shadow Queen and the Star Rod, while the true architect kept his mind alive in Andross's nanites.

"Hold her steady," Bowser ordered with the expectation of considerable turbulence on their way to Toad Town.

"This is ridiculous," Roy said. "We're gonna hit an air pocket or something, crash, and boom…Scales wins automatically."

"Oh and you think we'd be any safer at home with Ludwig calling the shots and out for blood?" Wendy interjected.

"That's not fair, Wendy. Scales is forcing Ludwig into this," Bowser snarled at his only daughter. He'd talked with Ludwig before sending him off on his doomed mission. He'd read it in his eyes that he wanted their house to rule the multiverse.

"Why are you defending Luddy, Papa?" Junior asked, not entirely able to his excitement. The airship was making fast abrupt turns to avoid entering the most dangerous parts of the tightly clustered storm cells—and fast meant fun!

"I'm defending him because he had a plan that would've worked if Scales hadn't tricked him."

"Dad," Morton said, "I thought Junior was your favorite. Why are you so protective of Ludwig all of a sudden?"

Junior smiled, "I'm your favorite! I should be king of everything!"

"Shut up, Junior!"

Everyone expected those words to come from Roy or Wendy. They came instead from Bowser himself.

"I raised you by myself without your mother. I had to be closer to you, but don't beat your brothers and sister over the head with it!"

"But Mama Peach…"

Peach started to say something when Bowser said, "We've been over this a billion times! Everyone knows she not your real mother! You even told me you knew. Your real mother died before you hatched! Peach was just supposed to…" Bowser couldn't find the words to finish the sentence. For Peach this only confirmed what she'd long suspected.

When the ship finally entered a relatively smooth patch of air, Peach asked, "Bowser, did you ever consider just asking me to be your queen without invading my kingdom and terrorizing my subjects?"

Bowser felt his heart soar.

"Peach, does that mean…?"

"No!" She said angrily. "Not after everything you've done. I'll keep your kids safe, but remember, when we land it will be in my kingdom, not yours."

* * *

Toad Town was ravaged by massive tornados and lightning strikes. Peach could not begin to guess how much of her capital actually remained, or how many Toads had been lost. Collapsed buildings, broken bridges were all visible from the airship's gradually descending altitude. Fortunately, Peach's Castle was still entirely intact. Why, Peach wondered, would Scales attack the city but not the castle? It made no sense.

The ship landed in the fields in front of the castle.

"We've landed, Evilness."

"Finally," Bowser said, then snapped, "You cut it pretty close, nitwits!"

"Now, we'll be safe at Mama Peach's Castle," Junior giggled, annoying all his siblings.

"No, we won't be safe until the Kremlings are defeated once and for all!" Bowser declared boldly with one foot forward and a hand clenched into a fist, before slumping his shoulders and mumbling, "And I need Mario's help for that." Then Bowser straightened himself and said, "Okay kids, let's let the Princess go and follow her."

Bowser bowed gallantly, but Peach ignored him and walked by.

They followed her to the airship's deck and then down the plank.

Bowser could see a red and blue smudge in the distance outside the castle. It was Mario, all right. The green and blue smudge must be his brother…Linguini or something? Bowser felt a bit nervous as he started walking toward them, but Peach was in the lead and was walking slowly. Mario should be able to tell that she wasn't a captive any more.

Soon Mario and the Princess were face to face, with Bowser standing slightly behind and to the side.

The plumber seemed overjoyed but reserved as he asked, "Principessa, dida the evil tartaruga hurt you?"

"No, Mario. I'm okay. Bowser brought me back because his new boss turned on him. He wants to keep his kids safe at my castle. What happened to Toad Town?"

"Ita wasa disa big storm. There were tornados anda lightening everywhere," Luigi said.

"How many are dead?"

"About a million," Mario said.

Peach gasped. That was about a third of Toad Town's population. Then her face hardened.

"Scales is the worst thing to ever happen to the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario, your new mission is to defeat the Kremling Emperor, but you're going to have to work with Bowser."

Mario looked confused.

"But 'e's de one data started alla this."

"I was under orders from my boss, plumber!" Bowser shot back. "Besides if my plan to betray him had worked, none of this would have ever happened."

"But your plan didn't work," Peach said, "And now you need our help." Peach turned her head.

"Mario, can you work with Bowser?"

The plumber gave an unenthusiastic, "OK."

Luigi began to explain why he should stay behind, when Starlow came out of hiding behind his head.

"No!" she said. "The only force that can take on the Emperor is the Seven Star Spirits!"

"Pft.." Bowser said. "He already beat them."

"But," Starlow emphasized, "They can open a portal to Master Hand."


	18. The Edge of Spacetime

AN: I don't own the Mortal Kombat franchise anymore than I own Super Smash Bros. I don't own Star Trek either. Furthermore, my takes on the Mushroom Kingdom's Star Spirits' are not meant to be anti-theistic in nature. (I'm a Christian myself). I partly wrote them this way based on my extrapolations of them in Paper Mario. The depiction of Master Hand and Crazy Hand is in part me trying to see how close I can get to the forth wall without actually breaking it.

The Master Hand…it along with its brother Crazy Hand, could teleport beings from anywhere in the Multiverse for the annual Super Smash Bros. Tournament. They clearly had more power than anything in the Mushroom World, but was that enough to take on Scales? Further, would they even want to? They were highly morally ambiguous, but they adhered to a code: the rules of the tournament. They'd managed to hold back their own power to give the Smashers an honest chance at beating them. That meant that they were Bowser's best hope, the Koopa King thought as he walked the five mile path from Peach's Castle to Shooting Star Summit.

Mario was in the lead, followed by Luigi, Starlow, Peach, Bowser himself, and the Koopalings. Bowser figured to let Starlow and Peach do all the talking, since they were in far better standing with the Star Spirits. His last direct encounter with them had been when he stole the Star Rod. But, they'd brought his children back just like he'd asked, so maybe they finally were listening to him. But if they were, why'd they let Ludwig fail?

Bowser slowed his climb, forcing his children to slow theirs. It was best that the heroes talked to the Star Spirits first. They actually owed Mario for rescuing them from Bowser.

The Mario Brothers, Peach, and Starlow stood at the top of the summit where indentations corresponding to the Seven Star Spirits were on every side of the plateau.

Starlow approached the center and said, "Noble Elders, hear this Star Sprite's plea!"

Bowser was still trying to figure out how an odd circular little thing like Starlow could be related to the Star Spirits when the said beings appeared—or, rather, very static-ridden holograms of them appeared.

"Mario!" Elstar cried happily, "I sense you are here because you need our aid. This is most fortuitous because we also need yours."

"Yeah," Muskular interrupted. "This Scales creep stole our Star Rod!"

They think that's their biggest problem? Bowser thought. He'd set them straight! Already closing his ears to Peach's description of what had happened to Toad Town, he hoisted himself over the ledge and loudly yelled, "We've got bigger problems than your missing Star Rod!"

"You!" Muskular shouted. "You're the one who caused this whole mess!"

Bowser was insulted that a Star Spirit would just say something so blatantly untrue.

"Now hold on a minute!" Bowser's own anger matched Muskular's in intensity. Then something hit him. "I finally get it."

"Get what," Peach asked.

"Why K. Rool hated me even more than he hated the Kongs. I was always public enemy number one on this planet because I kept kidnapping you. K. Rool tries to starve the Kongs to get control of their island, then blow them up out of revenge. That's genocide! He attempts genocide, I kidnap a princess, and somehow I'm more evil? Now I know why Scales destroyed Toad Town and left your castle without a scratch! Maybe when the Toads had their own genocide to consider they'd start ranking differently."

Starlow shot forth a seething tirade, "You heartless monster! You think you're a hero because you 'just' kidnap? And you talk about the destruction of Toad Town like someone's keeping score! It's something Scales should be ashamed of, not proud of! You're just bitter because you never killed a million Toads yourself!"

Bowser had had it in for Starlow ever since she was in his gut, but now she was really going to have it. Bowser almost let his flame breath loose when Peach screamed, "Everyone, stop it!"

She stared at Eldstar.

"Scales has the powers of the Triforce, the Shadow Queen, the Star Rod, and Andross. He can't be defeated in a normal fight. We need to speak to Master Hand."

Klevar ventured, "You know he'll make this into a tournament. Even with limits on his power, Scales could still defeat any of you unless we have an extremely carefully prepared strategy."

"The risk is greater if we don't act."

"The words of a true leader," Eldstar looked at Peach. Then he glanced at both Mario and Bowser.

"It will take all our combined concentration to open a portal to the Hand Brothers. Please wait," Eldstar said as he and all the other Star Spirits closed their eyes and began glowing.

Bowser tapped his foot impatiently, as his anger at Muskular was unresolved and until the Koopa King got resolution, the time he spent staring into the Star Spirit's face creeped along uncomfortably.

Finally there was a rip in spacetime in the middle of the summit: a pinkish purple vertically stretched oval.

Eldstar opened his eyes. "Princess, Mario, Luigi, Bowser, enter."

Bowser watched Peach and the Mario Brothers enter, but he had a few words of his own to share with the Star Spirits before he embarked on this adventure. Staring at Eldstar, he said halfway between a plea and a demand, "Take care of my kids."

He expected negative responses out of Starlow and Muskular, but Mamar said, "We shall keep them safe with us while Scales is on the planet."

A shocked Muskular blinked. "Why are we helping him with a mess he started in the first place?"

Bowser was about to respond nastily when Klevar answered, "Because his children are not as guilty as their father, and this particular mess was started by King K. Rool, not Bowser."

Bowser smiled. He was sure that this Star Spirit was on his side.

Bowser started to thank Klevar when the Star Spirit said, "Shut up, Bowser! Muskular may be a bit unfair but I still remember when you locked me up in the clouds above Flower Fields!"

Bowser quickly nodded and jumped through the portal.

* * *

It was a coronation worthy of a true ruler. Scales sat with a golden chest plate which made him look only slightly less overweight than it had done with his father, holding a sword and scepter, and wrapped shoulder-to-toe in the Kremling imperial crimson cloak. Opaque green glass above the throne tinted the color of the sunlight entering the room. The throne room was so packed it could barely contain leaders from every planet in the Lylat System, including representatives of every tribe on Sauria, and leaders from every independent state on Mushroom Planet. The decrepit Cranky Kong was there. Now that Bowser, Star Fox, and the Toad media had been taken care of, he was the next target of Scales's fury. But not just yet. Today was a day of celebration, commemorating Scales's unique achievement in the history of the Mushroom Galaxy. Roolenstein Keep had finally been completely restored. A Kremling judge wearing a white wig and black robes held a jeweled crown aloft. Its emeralds flashed green in the lighting of the room. The judge was speaking in Archaic Kremling, the dead language of the old Kaos Core culture, charging Scales to further the state's interests. Scales replied in the Archaic Kremling meaning, "The state's interests are my own." The judge then brought the crown to rest on Scales's head.

He then said the Archaic Kremling for, "I crown thee Ţar Ivar I Bluescale."

Thunderous clapping erupted from the crowd, but apart from the Sharpclaw and Kremlings present, it was more out of fear than happiness. In fact thirty whole minutes passed because everyone was afraid to be stop clapping prematurely. Scales himself had to raise his scepter to signal everyone to stop. He loved being able to command such displays but he had the business of statecraft to attend to.

"Ludwig von Koopa and King Boo, approach my throne."

Ludwig reluctantly did Scales's bidding and bowed on one knee to his master.

"I entrust Ludwig with the Principality of Darklands and the northwestern portion of the former Mushroom Kingdom."

Ludwig noticed the term Scales used: "principality." Darklands was no longer a kingdom. There could no longer be any attached kingdoms to Scales's empire, only directly controlled provinces. Ludwig had hoped to turn Darklands into an empire. Now it was no longer even a kingdom.

"Bow to the floor and receive your principality."

Ludwig did not want to comply but knew he had no choice, so stepped forward and knelt again. Scales touched his right shoulder with the scepter.

When Scales withdrew it, he said, "We bid thee stand, Prince Ludwig of Darklands. All the land from Barrel Volcano to Koopa Village is yours to reign over as you see fit as my vassal. However you control no land east or south of the Gusty River."

Darklands and Koopa Village were to be reunited… If only that had come about with Dark Lands as an independent state! There was no honor in anything Ludwig was receiving from Scales—not that Ludwig deserved any honor. It was his fault after all that Kammy and Kamek were dead, his family on the run and Darklands, now a Kremling province.

Now, Ludwig knew Scales's attention would turn to King Boo. King Boo had been a traditional ally of K. Rool, but something told Ludwig he would not be rewarded for it. Boo tradition called for a king's given name not to be used during his reign, but Scales, shockingly, said, "Bow to me, Herbert."

The room erupted in laughter, and Ludwig could not help himself but join in. King Boo, dreaded arch-nemesis of Luigi Mario was really named "Herbert!?" This was the height of embarrassment, but, Ludwig reminded himself, "Bowser," the masculine form of "Bow" had been a Boo name long before the Koopas ever adopted it.

"Herbert's" normally pale appearance turned lava red.

"You dare to address the Boo King with his given name?! Who do you think you are!?"

Scales lay down the sword in his cyber hand and squeezed thin air with it.

Herbert, who didn't technically breath, was gasping and his floating form descended to the floor.

"I'm your Emperor!" Scales said as he rose from the throne to tower over Herbert. "You're powers are no match for mine. Now swear fealty to me or I will hand over your lands to Prince Ludwig."

Herbert, in obvious pain, said, "I swear."

"Good," Scales replied, and flicked his wrist. Suddenly whatever was bothering Herbert stopped.

Scales touched Herbert with his scepter, "We bid thee stand Prince…" Scales fished around for an appropriate name before deciding on, "…Igor."

Everyone agreed that was a much better name for a ghost than Herbert, and another wave of thunderous clapping erupted among the spectators.

"Igor" recognized that the Emperor had meant this to be seen as a great compassionate gesture.

"You shall hold the Principality of Spectra, composed of Forever Forest, Gusty Gulch, Dry Dry Desert, and all territories of the former Mushroom Kingdom not ruled over by the Prince Ludwig."

Another kingdom turned into a principality. Ludwig couldn't stand watching this monster go on, but as he knew he had no choice. The next statement Scales made took Ludwig by surprise for its sheer pettiness.

"Loyal subjects, you all know me to be an emperor of my word, and I have promised to keep Andrew Oikonny alive so long as he remained loyal. Unfortunately word reached me of his disloyalty. When I returned here from Venom, Oikonny's jailors informed me that he questioned my right to the Kremling throne." Scales voice boomed with rage, "Me, a direct descendant of Kremius Primus who unified Kaos Kore and gave his family name to our people! A claim that neither the Ţars of the Fourth or Fifth Empires could make! Surely anyone questioning my right to rule deserves death!" Scales paused, his anger vented.

Ludwig could tell that the next statement was a string of lies and half-truths.

"But I seek to rule justly, so I visited Oikonny to determine if the insult was made by him or by his jailors. I was hoping that the jailors would be guilty and that I would not be compelled to destroy someone I swore to protect," that much—that Scales visited Oikonny—was true, "But Oikonny was indeed guilty and, sadly, is no longer with us."

Oikonny was the weakest of Scales's enemies. His own faction had deserted him when they made Scales Emperor of Venom. He didn't need to be killed. All Scales had done was reveal his own insecurities, something he never would have done when he didn't have these powers. Still, Ludwig sensed that the insecurity was real, even if irrational: the product of growing up as SharpClaw/Kremling hybrid in the shadow of Andross and K. Rool.

Ludwig knew what he thought but dared not think it, the thought that…

* * *

"This psycho dinocroc has to be stopped!" Bowser ranted to Master Hand as he had for the past…well…time seemed to work differently in the nexus. So did space. He, Mario, Green 'Stache and Peach were floating in a strange weightless void that shifted in color from blue to purple to pink.

"And as I have told you, we don't do Mortal Kombat style tournaments," Master Hand said. "Can you imagine the pressure if I said to the Smashers, 'The fate of googles will depend upon you, AHAHAHA!"

Bowser could tell that Master Hand was quoting from some movie from a foreign dimension.

"What kind of guardians of the Multiverse are you anyway?"

Master Hand started laughing and confusing everyone.

"Our kind have never made any such claim."

Mario noticed the word "kind."

"Are you-a saying dere'sa more dan de two of you?

"My Dear Mario," Master Hand chuckled, "There's a whole continuum of us. We're like the Q from Star Trek. We may be immortal and can move objects through time and space, but we don't normally go about interfering in the events of the multiverse."

Peach was getting tired of all these references to media in another universe.

"What is all this stuff you keep quoting? Our world is in danger and you just relax, talking about stuff that isn't even real!"

"Q's universe was real enough to him when I last talked to him," Master Hand said.

Crazy Hand started dancing madly.

"I get nervous if I don't have cool sci-fi stuff to quote!" After more rapid tap dancing, he pointed to Peach, "You! You have angered the Crazy Hand! Prepare for destruction!"

Everyone dreaded what would happen next when Master Hand interlocked his fingers with Crazy Hand, stopping him.

"No, my brother! You must calm yourself!"

In a sniffling voice, Crazy Hand said, "I'm sorry, brother. I forgot they're our guests."

Everything between these two was nonsensical, childish, and grating Bowser's nerves. Knowing full well that it would do no good, Bowser let out a flame breath. That got the Hand Brothers' attention.

"You can keep talking to us all you want about alternate realities, 'Star Whatever' and 'Immoral Kombat' but all I care about is ridding our universe of Scales."

Master Hand stood motionless for a moment, then rubbed his thumb and index fingers. "Don't misunderstand us, we want Scales gone too. He's the biggest threat to the entire multiverse right now, and he still hasn't gotten powers the powers of Dark Matter and Nightmare from Dreamland, but given his increasing references to Dedede as 'the fat penguin,' they're probably next on his list. We have to stop him now, but a tournament is not the best way to do that."

When Master Hand said this, a collective weight fell from the four Mushroom World inhabitants' shoulders. The Hand Brothers were going to help after all.

Master Hand pointed to Bowser, "Bowser, you have to sneak into Roolenstein Keep"—then silencing Bowser he said, "Don't worry, I know a powerful wizard with abilities like Scales's on a smaller level. He can train you to avoid Scales's telepathy, but you cannot trust him for he is equally evil. The bigger issue what to do when you reach your final opponent."

Bowser nodded. "Right, so how do I beat Scales?"

"It's not Scales you need to worry about. Your opponent is Ludwig."


	19. The Least of Three Evils Is Still Evil

AN: Sorry for the long delay, but I'm in grad school folks. Term papers mean pushing fanfics to the back burner. Also, I'm not trying to promote the occult. The Stars and Krazoa have their abilities naturally, and everyone who has tried to manipulate the natural order of things, through magic or technology has been a bad guy.

Bowser landed with a thud on the floor of a forest. Everything seemed to spin, and the Koopa king was sure his skull was cracked from the intense pounding headache he felt.

Bowser sat still long enough for his vision to become focused again.

 _Stupid Hand Bros,_ Bowser thought as he gently rubbed his aching cranium.

Where was he again? Master Hand had said something about Hyrule….

 _No!_

He had also said something about an evil wizard who had a grudge against K. Rool, and that could only mean… _not HIM!?_

Bowser had never interacted much with Ganondorf Draugmire, even at the tournaments, but from what Link and Zelda had said, he was evil incarnate. Kidnapping princesses, Bowser could understand. Same thing with collecting magical objects that could help you take over the world. But from what Bowser had heard about Ganondorf's cruelty…he just shivered to think of it. None of it was about finding love, or helping his people. It was all about self-aggrandizing power, just like with K. Rool.

Bowser paused for a minute to take in his surroundings and in doing so take his mind off Ganondorf. The sun was shining, the skies were blue, birds chirped…oh, and his head still hurt.

 _Stupid Hand Bros—_ and that brought his mind back to Ganondorf.

Becoming an ally of K. Rool's most powerful enemy made strategic sense, but everything that Bowser hated about K. Rool also applied to Ganondorf. Who was the lesser of the two evils? If Ganondorf ended up with all of K. Rool's power, things wouldn't be any better.

As Bowser stared at a slender tree directly in front of him a voice from behind made him jump.

"And what business hath the king of Darklands in Hyrule?"

Bowser, half-crouching, turned to see the figure he was so afraid of, seated on a black horse wearing a black hood and cloak.

"How did you know I was here?"

Ganondorf threw back his hood to reveal fiery red hair, like Bowser's own.

"Ye are nigh the Gerudo dessert, and I sensed a portal between worlds open. In truth, I am disappointed it was you. I wanted a chance to steal the Triforce back from Crăşa, but I'd wager that your coming to my realm was no mere chance. Ye may be the key to my ultimate victory."

That was what Bowser feared, getting rid of K. Rool only to end up with someone just as bad.

"I'm not going to help you, you cloaked psycho! You and K. Rool are equally evil! You destroy entire cultures! Everything I've ever done has been for my family."

Ganondorf chuckled. "We are not equally evil. I'm much worse. His spared my life out of friendship when his minions from Lylat took the Triforce from me. He had no such item of equal value for me to steal, but if he did, friends though we be, I'd never let him live to plot against me." Ganondorf's eyes narrowed, "But _ye_ ," he addressed Bowser directly after his abstract comparison of himself and K. Rool, "Ye may be less evil than either of us, but ye are still not good. Tried ye not once to recreate the entire universe and wipe out everything then living?"

Bowser thought he could follow Ganondorf's grammar enough to get what he was talking about. The time when he'd tried creating new galaxies….

"I never thought I was destroying what already existed!" Bowser shot back.

"Listen to yourself. Ye never thought of the ones ye endangered. Not being able to see past oneself is evil!"

That stung Bowser because he knew it was true. He _had_ in fact put the whole Mushroom Universe in danger with his Galaxy Generator. He may never have deliberately set out to destroy the universe, but the fact remained that he almost had and didn't really care…at the time.

"My words pain thee," Ganondorf said, switching to the second person familiar as Bowser winced.

All of his comparing himself to K. Rool was pointless. The lesser of two evils is still evil.

"Tell me, Koopa," Ganondorf ordered, now viewing Bowser as a vassal, "Did my old friend use the Triforce to raise his island above the waves?"

"Yes, but that's not all he did. First, he used it—

Ganondorf cut Bowser short.

"Ye can only use the Triforce to grant one wish and then it breaks. K. Rool could not have used it twice without"—Ganondorf stopped mid-sentence. He realized his own folly, having told Crăşa everything about the Triforce.

"He _knew_ and he regathered the pieces. Now he can use it as many times as it pleaseth him. I was a fool to trust him!" A new realization dawned on Ganondorf: perhaps it wasn't mercy that stayed K. Rool's hand after all.

"Why did Crăşa's minions spare me, Koopa?"

Bowser not acting like a vassal said casually, "Oh, he wanted you gone. Leaving you alive was Wolf's idea, because Link and Zelda were also both still alive. K. Rool wasn't happy with that but his son still needed Star Wolf's services."

"Crăşa mentioned his son as a figure of high importance, a former servant of the ape called Andross…" Another idea struck Ganondorf's mind.

"What did he first with my Triforce?"

Bowser felt some relief now that the multiverse's two greatest villains were at war with each other. Maybe it wasn't about siding with Ganondorf, maybe it was just about shaking things up.

But Bowser then realized, _Neither of them as a far from you as you might think_.

"K. Rool probably used the Triforce to connect himself to Andross's nanomites, which his son absorbed after he killed him."

Ganondorf winced at the term "nanomites" but seemed to follow.

"He kept it in a lab with foul machines from Lylat to keep it from scattering too far…Crăşa mixed magic with science… _technomancy,_ " Ganondorf seemed to spit the term out as if it were crossing a standard even he felt repulsed by.

Bowser felt some shame, not because he objected to keeping magic and technology separate, but because it was another way he was like K. Rool.

"He's now in control of his son's body, and has the combined powers of the Triforce, the Star Rod, the Shadow Queen, and Andross—Bowser stopped when he saw a greedy smile appear on Ganondorf's face.

"You _want_ that? But you just said it disgusted you!"

"Power never disgusts me only weakness. Our old friend now has the greatest power in the universe, and I want to steal it. I'll do anything to obtain it. The Gerudo will reign supreme when I, their king, control the multiverse."

Bowser could tell that Ganondorf was only paying lip service to his people. This was about him and him alone. It was the same thing with K. Rool and the Kremlings. They were a culture of slaves who had served their monarchs with no concept of individual rights.

The idea of doing evil things to benefit your people and coming to care nothing about them was something that Bowser feared for he was already on that path himself. More and more he wanted to defeat Mario, sometimes he forgot why he was going through all this trouble in the first place. His relationship with Ludwig had already become no better than K. Rool's with Scales. They had reconciled but then the fiasco with Scales had happened. Now, according to Master Hand, Ludwig, not Ganondorf, K. Rool, or Scales, would be his final opponent. Bowser's own actions had brought this about.

He couldn't kill Ludwig, but the multiverse depended on him stopping him. For now, that meant playing a sycophant to Ganondorf.

Bowser sprawled prostrate with palms and knees planted in the grass.

"Master, how shall we take revenge on the Kremling Emperor?"

Ganondorf chuckled. "It is quite simple. I shall pay my old friend a visit. I have no claim of vengeance, merely a fortune to seek as a friend of the court."

That threw Bowser for a minute. He looked up, still maintaining the subservient position with the rest of his body.

"Master, did not Star Wolf taketh thy interdimensional transport thingy?"

Ganondorf showed no offense at Bowser's pathetic attempt at imitating his speech. It was satisfying to have his most famous rival as a vassal.

"Worry not. I can make a portal on my own."

* * *

Ludwig worried about the fate of his family. They had not been seen since the Ţar's attack on Darklands and the Mushroom Kingdom. Since they weren't confirmed dead, there was hope that they might still be alive. But, Ludwig knew, it would much better if they were dead. That way, Scales could do nothing more to hurt them. If they were alive he would hunt them down and then use his powers to force Ludwig to kill them in the most horrible way possible. And though Ludwig would hate it, he would have no choice but to obey. Scales knew every time Ludwig thought of Bowser or his siblings, and he had spent every minute he wasn't controlling the storm, extending the claws of his telepathy deeper and deeper into Ludwig's mind. It wasn't as though he'd turned Ludwig into a mindless puppet. The Prince of Darklands was still aware of his surroundings and formed his own opinions based on what he heard, saw, or sensed, but ultimate control of his actions rested with his master. No longer maestro and apprentice, but master and servant.

He knew he could never attack Scales; his master would sense that, nor could he dispose of Scales indirectly; his master had a constant lock on his thoughts, and while his mind was often elsewhere, if Ludwig found anything that had to do with acquiring or removing power sources Scales mind would return to Ludwig and bend him back in line.

Ludwig wanted to be as far from Scales as possible, but the mental link made his master ever-present. What's more he wanted Ludwig here on Crocodile Isle to witness his final victory over the Kongs.

The new Kremling plan of conquest involved biological warfare. A synthetic virus, highly communicable among Kongs but harmless to Kremlings would be introduced. Scales already had an anti-virus ready to deliver to the Kongs when they agreed to cede sovereignty of their home islands. The virus should keep the Kongs busy while Scales focused his energies on devising his plan for acquiring the powers of Dark Mind and Nightmare in Dream Land on Planet Popstar in the Gamble Galaxy. That would complete Scales's conquest of the Mushroom Universe. Ludwig knew that Scales would then begin looking to other dimensions, like Hyrule and Earth.

The dream that Ludwig had of uniting all of the multiverse under a single empire had morphed into a nightmare before his eyes…and he had helped bring it about. If he hadn't stopped Kamek, Scales would be dead right now, and none of this would have ever happened. But he _had_ stopped Kamek, and now Kamek and Kammy were dead, and the multiverse would be crushed under a brutal heel, all thanks to Ludwig. Ultimate responsibility for everything that had happened since then rested with him. He was powerless to kill Scales, who clearly deserved to go, but he knew it wouldn't be right if he didn't go with him. Bowser also blood on his hands for encouraging Ludwig. The old fool had been so confident Ludwig could pull it off. If Bowser was not dead already, he deserved to be.


	20. At the End

AN: This is the second-to-last chapter. The major conflicts get resolved here, but loose ends (like what happened to the _Star Fox_ characters) are wrapped up in the epilogue. You'll understand exactly what has defeated the bad guys in the epilogue. I'm interpreting wishing as the Mushroom World's closest equivalent to praying.

After two weeks of grueling training under Ganondorf's mental tests, Bowser had perfected the "steel tortoise" mental technique. He just had to focus on the image of his castle and he became unreadable to telepaths. After Ganondorf felt his new minion's training was complete he somehow opened a portal to the Mushroom World.

Just as before, Bowser landed on his head, and he slowly braced himself on his palms and knees until his double vision passed.

Bowser kept thinking to himself, _Castle, castle, castle,_ and then he clearly saw the thing he was thinking of…only it wasn't his castle.

Roolenstein Keep towered like it was part of the natural mountains of the Gloomy Gulch region. Bowser then registered that it was night. He could see the details of the Keep so well because a full moon shone over the Island, illuminating the thick foliage of Gloomy Gulch. The winds whistling through the trees at this altitude were certainly eerie.

 _No wonder King Boo liked K. Rool so much._

There could be hosts of Kremlings or Zingers, or even Boos in these woods, and Ganondorf immediately told Bowser that they would have to take the woods. The road was too dangerous: They'd be spotted for sure.

 _Castle, castle, castle,_ Bowser thought as he treaded softly as possible behind his overlord into the woods.

They had walked about thirty-four meters when Ganondorf heard speaking and ducked behind a large tree, motioning for Bowser to follow him.

The language they heard was clearly Kremling. Bowser could barely speak a word, but he understood the flow of the language enough to identify it. He cautiously peered his head around to glimpse the speakers. A grey, yellow, and brown scaled Kritter were each standing around a barrel.

" _Ham necesitátam uni critteri per aptar_ _ăci_ , _et apportàrillum castelol,_ " The grey one said.

Bowser remembered enough Kremling from college to recognize the said they needed something at the castle or something.

 _Uni critteri_ …They needed some Kritters for something. Bowser then noticed the black capital letters TNT stamped on the edge of the barrel. If his memory was right, some Kremling soldiers wore these TNT barrels as suicide weapons. This barrel was particularly large.

Ganondorf peered out and whispered to Bowser, "I shall distract the Kremling. Get thee into that barrel and use not thy fire breath."

That made sense as his fire breath could set off the fuse.

"What about you, boss?" Bowser asked.

"I shall use a cloaking spell and accompany thee invisibly. Cloaking us both would require more concentration than I can now afford, and were we to teleport directly into Crăşa's throne room, he should stop us immediately if his powers be as great as thou sayest."

Ganondorf twirled his hand and the wind whistled eerily through trees.

Bowser could only make out a single word from each of the three Kremlings responses: the yellow one fearfully wondered if it was a Boo, the grey one said "Herbert," in a suspicious tone, and the brown one said that they should "visit" him with notable confidence.

Whatever was going on, the barrel was now unguarded.

"Now!" Ganondorf barked while whispering.

Bowser stuffed himself inside the barrel and waited for what seemed like hours.

 _Castle, castle, castle,_ Bowser thought inside the barrel until he heard a Kremling say " _Principo Ludvigo."_ Bowser then heard footsteps moving away from the barrel and a metal door slam. He realized that he must be inside Roolenstein Keep.

There was silence for a little while, until Ganondorf's voice said, "Get thee out, slowly."

Bowser stuck a claw through the wood and slowly cut himself out. Immediately he understood why Ganondorf wanted him to slow down: there were fifteen other TNT Barrels in the room and he could have easily set them all off.

"Follow thou me!"

Ganndorf swashed his cape and immediately he and Bowser were transparent.

Cautiously, the wizard opened the door.

The two stood on a ledge that connected to a staircase leading down. So far there were no Kremlings in sight. Ganondorf uncloacked them. They both repeated their respective mantras as they walked down the stairs. and took the door to the right. Ganondorf reactivated the cloaking spell before they entered.

They stood outside the lower keep and looked at the stone walkway which circled around the mountain upward to the backdoor of the upper keep. The air was freezing and a getting knocked over the rail in a fight could lead to a fatal impact on one of the white peaks below: one of the few areas on this tropical island to have snow. There were no Kremlings or Zingers here, but plenty of those bird guys that worked for the Kremlings were making swoops around. Bowser tried to remember what they were called, but stopped to realize that his mind wasn't on his defenses. He couldn't let Ludwig and Scales lock on to his exact location if he were spotted.

The mental defense was all that they could rely on, because the birds had noticed the door open. It cawed loudly, forcing Ganondorf to drop the cloak and shoot a ball of purple magical energy at it. Bowser's fire breath took out another, but one of their comrades cawed and flew straight to the keep. They knew they were here. The other birds rushed at Ganondorf and Bowser and all were roasted. No more playing it safe. They had to make it to the throne room relying entirely their mental discipline to keep Scales's eyes from locking on to them. They rushed up the path. If they were not so caught up in their mental defense, the current and former villain might have taken note of the panicked state of affairs they were plunging Scales's staff into. Ganondorf and Bowser were somewhere in Roolenstein Keep, but not even the Emperor could not sense where. Bowser could reflect on that later. For now, everything was pushed to the back of his mind; the possibility that he may have to kill Ludwig most of all.

* * *

Ludwig Von Koopa scanned with the powers Scales had given him upon learning that his father was in the Keep, but so far his father was eluding his sweeps. If his father was here to kill them, so much the better, but even if he eluded Ludwig, he couldn't elude Scales. The only one to ever defeat the Ţar had been Andross. Bowser III was throwing his life away, and while Ludwig wanted to go with him, he didn't want to go by the Ţar's cruel hands.

"That shouldn't even be possible!" Ludwig shouted at the two Kremling guards from his black-gray desk. "I know what I'm supposed to be looking for!"

"Maybe if Your Lordship focused harder," the blue-scaled Kritter suggested.

"Shut up!" Ludwig shouted back. "What do you think I've been doing?"

At that moment the steel door to the room collapsed from the weight of a large Dragon-Koopa shell hurling into it.

When the dust cleared the Kritters leapt at Bowser, but solid punches to both their skulls knocked them out cold.

Ganondorf stood in the doorway while the Koopa King stared directly across the room to the eyes of his eldest son which stared back with equal intensity.

"So," Ludwig said, "You've easily replaced Kamek."

That comment stung Ganondorf. _He_ was the master, and Bowser was _his_ minion. It could slide for now. His mind was needed elsewhere, especially with Bowser distracted.

"Son, I'm here to rescue you. Master Hand said I had to kill you, but I want –"

Ludwig interrupted, "Master Hand, hmn? Well, he's the only one powerful enough to challenge the Ţar." Then Ludwig stroked his chin. "He's right, you know?"

"About what?" Bowser demanded.

"About killing me, you stupid muscle head! I'm the ultimate evil in the Multiverse! Killing me should set things right." Ludwig's tone was angry, so Bowser could not tell if he was being sarcastic or if he truly meant it.

"I was thinking that was Scales," Bowser said. As he said he didn't know what his son was feeling, he kept his voice toneless.

"Oh no," Ludwig said. " _I'm_ the one who killed Kamek!" He shouted the fact as if he was proud of it.

Bowser stepped backward, shocked, unwilling to accept it because he _would_ kill Ludwig if he gave into the anger he should be feeling. A touch of that anger made its way into Bowser's demand, "How?!"

He had dropped his mental shield, but couldn't think of how vulnerable it made him. His mind was busy with Ludwig's sudden change in tone.

"I stopped him from killing Scales when he had the chance," the Koopaling said with obvious regret. He looked at Bowser with watery eyes, "He could have stopped it all, right there, but I stopped his attack, and Scales killed him."

Bowser's anger was gone and he had a firmer grip on his mind. He gently asked Ludwig, "Why?"

"There had to be an emperor, or the multiverse would never be united. We couldn't absorb Scales's power. I _had_ to let him live. _You_ wanted the multiverse. I had to let him live."

The full impact of what Ludwig was saying hit Bowser to the core. Bowser had really wanted to rule the multiverse, though he would have settled for just Mushroom World. Ludwig was no more a monster than Bowser himself, and it was Bowser's example that he been following. He hadn't murdered Kamek, he'd just made a wrong strategy call.

"Son, you didn't kill Kamek. Maybe we're not supposed to conquer the Multiverse in the first place. I still want to rescue you."

Ludwig smiled, but then felt someone claw into his mind. It wasn't painful but it was inevitable. Knowing what was coming next, Ludwig said, "It's too late for me, Dad. The Ţar has locked on to us. He decides what happens now."

Ganondorf now dropped his own mental shield. Crăşa could see through Scales' eyes and Scales through Ludwig's. They were all caught now.

* * *

The two Koopas and the Hylian socerer materialized in Scales's command room on the uppermost floor. Bowser stumbled around for a minute before noticing two SharpClaw guards on either side of a grey rotating chair. The chair turned from its position facing the window, and Bowser saw Scales's cybernetic arm, head piece, and orange eye for the first time.

"Welcome, King Koopa! I've been wondering where you were." Then he turned his head. "Ganon, my old friend. I'm actually glad Star Wolf disobeyed me because now I have the pleasure of taking care of both of my greatest rivals by myself."

Scales leaned toward the guard on his left, "Leave us."

Both guards bowed and left. Scales stared at Ganondorf.

"I knew you'd try to challenge me and that you'd be undetectable, but you blundered horribly by taking Bowser as an ally. I couldn't detect you until he'd dropped his mental defenses in Ludwig's room. His compassion has become your undoing." Scales then turned to address Bowser. "You do know that you can't rescue your son."

Bowser looked at Ludwig, who only offered, "Resistance is futile, Father."

 _Futile, eh…_ Bowser hadn't even begun resisting.

"I know how you got Ludwig to stop Kamek's attack," Bowser growled, "And got Ludwig to blame himself for you killing Kamek and Kammy!"

Scales turned his gaze to Ludwig who was looking down at the floor.

"It _was_ his fault though. I have shaped the list of options available to him ever since we returned from Lylat."

Ludwig stared at the ground even harder.

"It was I who allowed Ludwig to believe I had been weakened and that an attempt to seize my power would even work. He was working for us even when he thought he was working for you."

 _Us?_ Ludwig thought. Who was Scales talking about?

Scales looked back to Ganondorf.

"I trust you know who 'us' includes, my old friend."

Scales, or rather K. Rool, made a squeezing motion with his cyberhand and purple energy began to flow in a steady stream from Ganondorf's body into Scales'.

The wizard howled and bent over in obvious physical pain. K. Rool, Scales, or both, were smiling.

Not even a being as evil as Ganondorf or the Kremling leaders deserved to be tortured solely for another's amusement. Bowser growled but Ludwig used his powers to hold him back.

"You can't fight it dad. You can only accept it."

Bowser looked on in sympathy for someone who probably deserved all of this except that sick, sadistic smile.

The energy transfusion was complete and Ganondorf fell face first on to the floor.

"And now, old friend, I'm tempted to kill you gently, but I've got a reputation to keep." K. Rool shot fire from Scales's hand. Ganondorf was ashes in minutes, but during those minutes he let out the most tortured screams Bowser had ever heard.

"It's a pity. I rather liked him, but business must come first," K. Rool said.

"Oh, shut up!" Bowser said in a loud but impatient voice. K. Rool stared back, confused.

"You're like some stupid frat boy who thinks that this is all some kind of game. You might be the evilest being in the multiverse, but doesn't make me awed by you. It makes me think you're pathetic. You hurt people, entire species, because you think evil is a status symbol. I don't even fear you. I pity you."

"Strong words from someone who also wants to rule the universe."

"Used to. I've seen where that leads. You've just killed your best friend, don't realize what this road is doing—has already done to you?"

K. Rool looked over Scales' body.

"It's made me the strongest being in the multiverse. But you Bowser, you take half-measure, and because of that you can't even hold your own family together."

K. Rool then looked at Ludwig but read Bowser, closing his eyes and running his tongue over his fangs.

"Oh, yes, I see. Master Hand wants you to defeat your son because you can't face me directly. Surely you must know that I can still empower your son!"

Bowser had turned his mind elsewhere Scales said the words "defeat your son." That had been what Master Hand had said. "Killing" him wouldn't be necessary. Bowser smiled.

"Ludwig, this can all be over soon, if you just…"

"I don't have a choice! This fight can't end until one of us is destroyed!"

Ludwig formed a ball of blue energy between his hands and flung it at Bowser. Bowser jumped and crashed into the floor, his body retracting in his shell. He spun himself toward Ludwig but the Koopaling teleported away and threw another energy ball that impacted with Bowser's shell and broke two spikes. As the shell grew directly into Bowser's vertebrae the direct impact hurt as much as when Mario had flung him belly first into a bomb in Peach's Castle. Bowser struggled a bit before successfully pulling himself up, but by then he'd lost sight of Ludwig. Bowser then turned around in a circle spraying the entire room with his fire breath. The fire nearly reached Scales's throne but the space around it seemed to have an invisible shield that only quivered when the flames touched.

As Bowser looked for his son another blow from behind hit him on his lower shell and he lost balance. Fortunately, he landed in front of Ludwig's feet, which he proceeded to grab. Ludwig lost his footing as Bowser regained his. He swung his son around and around and sent him flying into the wall.

Ludwig felt his head pound from his face first impact with the wall but wasted no time in launching himself into an aerial shell spin against his father. Bowser performed the same technique, and the two collided. Bowser was on top, which meant that Ludwig's spike stuck into Bowser's soft underbelly. Ludwig didn't puncture any vital organs, but the pain was unbearable. Ludwig heaved his father off him and stood up right. The fight was over. Bowser had lost.

The Koopa King lay sprawled on his back, looking at Ludwig, not with anger or with fear, but a sense of his own failure.

He'd failed to beat Ludwig, but maybe Ludwig could still beat K Rool.

"Son..I want you to focus on some mental picture…something that gives you strength…" Bowser said.

Ludwig looked confused. "What?"

"Some kind of strong memory—hold on to it!"

The strongest memory Ludwig had was when he and his oldest siblings had joined their hands over their mother on her death bed. He tried to focus, but Scales interrupted.

The mutant emperor stood and, "This is my only warning, Ludwig. Ignore your father."

That had been Scales's only mistake since becoming Emperor of Venom. He was obviously afraid of what Ludwig could do with a mind as disciplined as Bowser's had become.

"No!" Ludwig said with pride and defiance swelling in his voice "You let me see you scared, August One. I'm not letting myself be your servant anymore. I'll conquer you and rule the multiverse myself. I'm a royal scion of the House of Koopa, like my father before me."

 _No,_ Bowser thought. _Trying to rule the multiverse is what started this mess. You don't want to be like him…or me._

Scales simply chuckled a bit.

"You misunderstand, Ludwig. I wasn't scared because you can harm me. I was disappointed because you are going down a path," Scales had not yet begun the next clause in his sentence when King K. Rool's ghost appeared from nowhere and finished, _"…that I cannot accept!_ "

Scales raised his cyber hand and the Shadow Queen's dark energy arose from the floor and hung around Ludwig's body like a rope, slowly choking him.

" _You have forfeited the powers my son entrusted you with!"_

Ludwig tried to think of himself and his brothers at their mother's death bed, but the shadow noose grew tighter.

" _That cheap trick might protect your mind, but I'm aiming this assault on your body."_

Ludwig's gasps spiked Bowser's adrenalin. The injured monarch stood on his palms.

" _You had such potential. You could've been my son's second-in-command."_

The noose grew tighter still, and Ludwig's breath more rasping as Bowser tried to shift his weight to his feet.

K. Rool made Scales drop his cyber hand for one moment. Ludwig fell to the floor, alive but coughing.

" _And now, young Koopaling, your game is over."_

Scales began drawing energy from his surroundings and making a telekinetic ball between his hands, when Bowser, stretching his adrenalin spike as long he could, picked up Scales from behind.

Scales tried to send the energy of the blast into Bowser's body, and succeeded, but something was forcing him to send it through his own body as well. He felt a searing pain in his head, as the part of his brain containing the residue of K. Rool began degenerating.

K. Rool's ghost disappeared and Bowser, using the last of his strength, hurled Scales outside his glass window. Bowser immediately collapsed, but Scales's body exploded as a black and purple mass of energy before it hit the ground thousands of feet below. Two beams shot upward from the explosion, turning from purple to gold as they reached the broken window on the floor above. There they solidified into two objects: the complete Triforce and the Star Rod. Neither of those were what mattered most to Ludwig right now.

"Dad!" Ludwig ran to Bowser side and held his hand.

"Ludwig," Bowser rasped. "Give the…the Triforce…to Link and…and Zelda… and the Star Rod to the…the Star Spirits. No one else must have them. Tell Larry I'm sorry I never made time…"

Ludwig could already tell that his father didn't want what Scales had done to repeat itself, and for once Ludwig was not overconfident in his own abilities. He would obey his father, but there he could get away with before handing the Star Rod over. Bowser was near death but the Star Rod could grant all wishes. But…

No, _that_ would be abusing what it was meant for. Ludwig turned his head away in sadness.

Not holding the Star Rod, Ludwig simply said, "I wish all these things went back to their rightful owners, and…that my dad could live."

Suddenly, Eldstar appeared, simultaneously frightening Ludwig and giving him immense hope.

"A truly unselfish wish by a Darklands prince. My colleagues have been waiting a long time for that."


	21. Epilogue

Ludwig's wish had been enough. Bowser was still significantly sore in his shell and it hurt to move, but he would live. When the Star Spirits had seen that Scales was defeated they had released the other Koopalings back to Darklands, and given word to the Hand Bros. that it was now safe to return Mario, Luigi, and Peach to the Mushroom Kingdom. With the Triforce back in Hyrule and no Ganondorf in the current timeline, things should be peaceful there as well.

Once everything had calmed down enough in the Mushroom Kingdom and Darklands, and Bowser was well enough to travel, a diplomatic visit with the purpose of détente had been arranged.

The Koopa King calmly sipped his tea as he sat across from the Mushroom Princess in the gardens behind her palace. When Peach had unequivocally dismissed his romantic affections for Bowser, he knew to let that particular issue lie. Still, she held answers to questions Ludwig needed answered, and Bowser was ready to end the almost constant state of war that had existed between their two kingdoms since he first tried to kidnap her, something that would probably take many visits, and debates within and between both governments. He decided to begin by asking Peach about the welfare of her kingdom.

"Toad Town is slowly being rebuilt; though all those lives we lost are irreplaceable. Thank you very much for asking."

Bowser felt a stab of some negative emotion he couldn't identify. "Well, this is a huge understatement, but it's horrible that that happened."

"Yes," Peach nodded. "You always kidnapped me but generally left the people alone. This is the first time the Mushroom Kingdom has ever faced something like this. The Toads are justifiably angry."

"Is there anything Darklands can do to aid you?"

"That would be greatly appreciated, but wasn't Darklands attacked too?"

"Yeah, but we didn't get such a concentrated hit in one area."

"And that's why some Toads don't want any aid from Darklands. They see you as being on Scales's side."

Bowser dropped his teacup. Pointing to himself and standing, he shouted, "I'm the guy who kicked alien-dino butt. Not Mario, not Donkey Kong, not Link, not Star Fox, ME!"

"But you _did_ kidnap me the day before the attack, remember?" Peach reminded her Darklands counterpart.

Bowser blushed. He had quite forgotten that particular detail. The more he thought on it the more somber his face grew. He brought a hand to his mouth, coughed and sat back down.

"When Lemmy's old enough, I'm abdicating. Maybe the Mushroom Kingdom and Darklands can start fresh then."

Peach gasped upon hearing that. "But I thought Ludwig—

"Disinherited by the Council. Too many ties to Scales," Bowser said looking down. He turned his head up and smiled at Peach. "He's still my boy, and I still love him, but I don't think either of us are king material. Besides, we've had four Mortons, three Ludwigs, two Wendys, two Roys, six Ignatiuses, and three Bowsers before. We've never had a King Lemuel before."

"And it seems that the Kremlings have never had a republic before," Peach sipped her tea.

"It's the only way K. Rool's surviving children could stave off civil war. They'll be a monarchy again when one wins the general election, trust me."

Peach looked saddened at Bowser's words.

"The Kremlings have only had absolute monarchs, and a popular revolution that a junior royal hijacked. The good thing," Bowser slowed his speech, for this was what Ludwig wanted to know, "is that they don't control the Lylat System anymore."

"Yes, our friends on Corneria are safe again."

Peach had more favor with the Star Spirits, and they could easily contact Master Hand. If anyone in Mushroom World had a clue as to what befell Ludwig's acquaintances, it was her. He'd ask about the heroes first.

"You wouldn't happen to know what's become of Star Fox, would you?"

Peach smiled.

"Fox was freed from the crystal thing he was trapped in when you defeated Scales. He and Krystal are back together. Slippy's out of the Venomian prison. Falco was rescued from Leon's 'lab' or whatever you want to call his torture shop."

Bowser did want to hear all of the gory details, but Ludwig told him that Leon had some sort of blood vendetta against Falco, and having him as a hostage for all that time…

"How is Falco?"

"He's in therapy."

"Did they say how badly he's been hurt?"

Peach frowned as she saw that Bowser had misunderstood.

"Bowser, Falco is in _psychiatric_ therapy."

The Koopa King let out a sigh of relief, followed by a frown of confusion.

"I thought Leon was a torturer, a sadist…"

"He's a sadist, all right," Peach said adamantly, "but he thought he had all the time in the galaxy and he wanted to break Falco mentally before he broke him physically. He didn't even have a surgical knife in hand until…"

Bowser felt nauseous. Holding his mouth closed until the feeling passed, he gasped, "So everyone in Star Fox is okay?" before Peach could add any more info about Leon.

Peach nodded.

Bowser still felt that he should ask, "Did Leon do anything with the knife?"

"He stabbed a Cornerian police officer who broke into his 'office,' before anything happened to Falco. The guard survived and has made a full recovery."

 _That's good_ , Bowser thought, feeling genuine relief, _Now I can ask about the ones Ludwig kinda saw as friends_.

"And Star Wolf?"

"Wolf and Panther are in a high security Cornerian prison. Leon vanished after the stabbing incident."

 _Then they're alive. Ludwig doesn't need to worry about them_. _Lylat however, should worry about Leon_.

"Any leads on Powalski?"

"Nothing solid."

The only ending that Bowser could deem a good one would be where Powalski was captured alive. He tried to turn the discussion to politics.

"I'm glad our distant neighbors have recovered some semblance of political stability. Pretty sure Venom's in chaos."

"I didn't think to ask about Venom," Peach admitted.

Bowser nodded. He understood that both he and she, like Ludwig, were more interested in the people than the politics of another solar system. But then Peach stood and surprised him.

"The Sharpclaw must be going through a difficult time on Sauria. I know how many Toads in Toad Town used to hate all Koopas because of you. It must be the same with the other tribes and on Sauria because of Scales."

Bowser knitted his eyebrows. That was probably going on to some extent on Sauria, but if what Ludwig had told him was true than the SharpClaw themselves were probably glad Scales was gone. He was extremely cruel to his own people, Kremling and Sharpclaw alike. What Peach said about Toads and Koopas was much closer to home.

"You do know that Mario fought me twice with some Koopas in his party."

"You must mean Koops, Kooper, and Parakarry. They had a big impact on the way Toads view Koopas."

"Mushroom Kingdom citizens, aren't they?"

Peach nodded.

"From the Pleasant River region?"

"Kooper's from there. Koops is the mayor of Petalburg; Toads, Koopas, and Bub-ulbs have all lived there in harmony for years. Parakarry is a postman. I'm not sure where he's from originally but he works out of Toad Town."

Bowser smiled when she mentioned Petalburg. It _had_ happened somewhere after all, and that gave Bowser hope for the future.

Peach noticed Bowser's smile. It wasn't hard to tell what he was thinking.

"Bowser, you don't need to wait to abdicate for Lemmy to sign a peace treaty. It may take our peoples time to get to like one another, but our countries could cease hostilities right away."

Bowser snorted enthusiastically.

"With all the havoc that Scales did to Darklands, the Council is for decreasing the military budget and increasing infrastructure. There have only been a few times the Council has voted on something this big without something you can spin as a victory, but the state of affairs back home will make peace an attractive option."

Peach smiled. "You can spin K. Rool as your victory."

That suggestion led back to Bowser's last reason for being here. He'd come here to discuss Ludwig's friends and peace with the Mushroom Kingdom. Those things were done. Only one item was left, an item Bowser was pretty sure was completely was alright, but he had to know.

"What did Master Hand have to say about me not defeating Ludwig? I still don't get how we beat Scales and K. Rool."

Peach's answer surprised Bowser.

"You're not the only one confused. All the Star Spirits, Mario, Luigi, and I were confused as well. Master Hand said it had something to do with the Triforce."

Bowser became motionless, his eyes fixed on Peach. He waited intently for her to say what came next.

"You know that the Triforce has three parts: Courage, Knowledge, and Power?"

 _Yes, Peach, everyone knows that_ , Bowser rolled his eyes.

"Pay attention!" Peach huffed noticing Bowser's impatience.

"Fine," Bowser said as though he were a school boy getting yelled at by the teacher.

"When all three parts of the Triforce are combined it can magnify a hidden power, the Triforce of Love—

"Triforce of Love!?" Bowser had never heard of that before.

"It's not widely known, even in Hyrule." Peach sipped her tea. "I only know because Master Hand told me."

"Why didn't Scales use it!? Or Ganondorf for that matter? Ganondorf had the complete Triforce before, and Scales must have known about it since he had merged with the complete Triforce!" Bowser said in disbelief. "And what does this have to do with me not defeating Ludwig?"

"K. Rool, Ganondorf, and Scales simply couldn't have known because they didn't understand love, and Ludwig didn't really understand love either. None of them truly understood what it was like to love their parents or to be loved by them. You had to break Ludwig out of that mindset before either of you could use the Triforce of Love against Scales."

Bowser realized his own bad parenting was to blame here and looked away in shame. A question formed in his head though.

"We never had the Triforce, so how did we, uh…" Bowser gestured with his hand.

"Scales couldn't use it, but it responded to the love between you and Ludwig."

"But I went in their thinking I might have to kill Ludwig…" Bowser said trying to make the dots connect.

"But that was only your last option, right, I mean if there was no other way. And you were most certainly not looking forward to it?"

"Absolutely not," Bowser folded his arms and huffed.

"Then you might understand love more than you think you do. And you did get Ludwig to respond, didn't you?"

Bowser nodded.

Ludwig had defended Bowser—true he wanted to conquer the multiverse, but Bowser had seen that look in Ludwig's eyes when Bowser forgave him for getting Kamek and Kammy killed: on some level all he wanted was parental love. What's more he fought to protect his parent. And at the same time Bowser almost died protecting Ludwig from K. Rool, motivated mainly not by saving the multiverse but by saving his child. Apparently, whatever had happened had worked. Maybe Bowser did understand more about love than he gave himself credit for. It was time to change subject.

"So Peach, now that you're safe from me, do you intend to settle down with Mario?"

Peach stared sideways as if through the walls around her garden.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if I love him or the one he reminds me of…" She was silent for a minute. When she finally answered, she was unsure if it really was romantic love or something else. "He's been in his brother's shadow for so long, but he's really proven himself to be as much of a hero when he has to…but doesn't Luigi already like Daisy?"

 **The End**


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